The Edmonton police are asking for the public to help identify suspects allegedly involved in a series of “hate-motivated” mischief and arson attacks at the Holy Rosary church in Central Edmonton.
Police say there have been three incidents at the church since December, including an incident where the word “burn” was spray painted on a Pope John Paul II statue and a hand-crafted nativity scene was set on fire.
A representative of the Edmonton Police Service told True North Tuesday that arrests have yet to be made, and the investigation is still ongoing.
“At this time, it’s not clear if any of the events are connected, although the church has been affected by an unusually high number of mischief and arson incidents,” the spokesperson said.
According to an EPS news release, the church has been subject to two vandalism attacks just days apart in September of this year as well as the destruction of a “culturally significant” nativity display in December of 2023.
“On Sep. 18, 2024 at approximately 9 p.m., a male and a female suspect approached the church and damaged a security camera before being startled by an approaching vehicle and fleeing the scene,” the release said.
The male suspect is described as white, approximately 30 years old, with dark hair, thin facial hair and tattoos on both forearms. He was smoking a cigarette at the time and wore glasses, a black and white jacket, knee-length jean shorts, a black and white Louis Vuitton logo ball cap, and a thick gold chain.
The female suspect was described as having shoulder length brown hair, wore a pink ball cap, a jean vest and grey jeans with ripped knees and was carrying a brown purse and a black tote bag.
“Two days later, on Sep. 20, 2024, at approximately 4 a.m., a male suspect spray painted the church’s statue of Pope John Paul with the word ‘burn’ while another male subject looked on,” the release said.
Police say it is unclear whether the male suspect who spray painted the Pope statue was the same in both incidents in September.
The Sept. 20., suspect was described as tall with a medium build medical mask, grey hoodie, navy blue jacket, grey pants with a wide black stripe on the upper portion of the pants, black runners and yellow leather work gloves and carried a can of white spray paint.
The late Pope was recognized as a Saint of the Catholic Church along with Pope John XXIII on April 27, 2014.
The statue was also vandalized in 2021 with red paint splatter and handprints in the wake of reports that unmarked graves were found at the Kamloops residential school. However, the site has not revealed human remains and only soil irregularities have been discovered.
The report said that on Dec. 28, 2023, just before 2 a.m., a male suspect also lit the church’s nativity display on fire before fleeing on foot.
“Church community members have told us that the nativity display was handcrafted by a parishioner decades ago and is culturally significant,” Acting Sgt. Cydney Ross, with the EPS Hate Crimes Unit, said in the press release. “Due to its unique nature, the display was irreplaceable and had sentimental value to the church community.”
Ross said the cumulative effect of the events has made the church and surrounding community of residents in the rectory and users of the convent and daycare building feel unsafe.
The Polish parish posted photos of the damage to the nativity scene to its Facebook page, captioning them “Religious freedom, the Canadian version.”
Police are urging anyone with information who can identify the suspects to contact police at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone. Anonymous tips can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at p3tips.com/250.
