Thieves shattered a statue of the Virgin Mary and a picture of Pope Leo XIV during a robbery at Holy Innocents Parish Catholic School in Long Beach, California, over the weekend. The burglars ransacked the chapel, smashing a tabernacle used to store the eucharistic host, and hurled Bibles across the room. Learning materials and furniture were also destroyed.
Police arrived on Monday morning to survey the damage. Tony Tripp, the school’s director of advancement, told ABC 7 that the tabernacle had been broken using the Mary statue, which dated back to 1958. The school’s internet devices, musical equipment, and sound system were also damaged or destroyed.
Patricia Torres, a local parent, expressed concern that the attack could be a hate crime. “I need to know if there was written on the walls, if there was a hate crime targeted because we're a specific Catholic setting,” she told CBS News. The school community has been left shaken, but eleventh-grader Catherine Cruz told KTLA that students continue to pray for the thieves. “They are still created by God, and so we still want to love them,” she said.
A GoFundMe campaign has raised over $60,000 as of February 3, including a $10,000 donation, to cover repairs. Police have not confirmed any arrests or what was stolen. Forensic squads have collected DNA evidence, including traces of blood found in the chapel. The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division has opened an investigation, as announced by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon on X.
The school’s principal told CBS News that operations are expected to return to normal by Wednesday. The Independent has contacted Long Beach Police for comment.
