A man disrupted morning Mass at a Staten Island church on Friday when he damaged the altar, injured two police officers, and caused parishioners to flee before services could begin, authorities and clergy said.

The disturbance occurred at St. Ann's Roman Catholic Church in the Dongan Hills neighborhood around 7 a.m. on January 9, after a 28-year-old male entered the building, disrupted the service, and aggressively resisted as officers tried to arrest him.

Churchgoers Witness Scene Unfold During Mass

Located at 101 Cromwell Ave., St. Ann’s had just opened its doors for the early Mass when the man entered, approached the altar, and initially removed a cross and a liturgical book. A priest persuaded him to return both items without incident, as Silive reports.

He then sat in the first pew with his jacket laid out on the floor, a choice that reportedly made some worshippers uneasy enough to leave before the service even began. Before Mass officially started, a concerned individual contacted 911.

The man later rushed back to the altar, tearing down flowers, flinging a parishioner’s missal, knocking over an angel statue—breaking one of its wings—and damaging parts of the marble floor. Surveillance footage and eyewitness video documented the disruption.

Police Respond; Two Officers Injured

Two officers with the New York Police Department arrived to address the situation. When they attempted to speak with the man, he became combative, leading police to deploy a taser as they tried to restrain and arrest him.

During the altercation, one officer sustained a head laceration, and another suffered a knee injury. Both were classified as minor injuries, though they required medical attention. The suspect was taken into custody shortly after the arrest.

“We’re just cleaning up the mess now in the church as we speak,” said Rev. Jacob Thumma, who leads the parish. The pastor was disheartened but calm, dealing with the aftermath while trying to comfort his congregation.

Second Incident in Just Over Two Weeks

This disturbance came barely two weeks after a similarly disturbing event at another parish also under Rev. Thumma’s guidance. On Christmas morning, vandalism was reported at St. Sylvester’s R.C. Church in Concord, Staten Island.

That incident, which occurred during a 10 a.m. Mass, involved smeared human feces on the church’s main entrance, steps, and railings. The pastor discovered the defilement at about 10:30 a.m. while heading to personally thank congregants outside.

“While the Mass was going on around 10:30, I was walking to the church to thank people, and I found human (feces) on the door, smeared on the outside of the door,” Thumma said. He then redirected parishioners to exit through a side entrance to avoid the degrading scene.

Growing Concerns Over Targeted Disruptions

Critics argue that such incidents raise serious questions about the protection and respect afforded to religious institutions. While no motives have been publicly confirmed, community members are increasingly uneasy about what seems to be a pattern of disruptions.

It used to be unthinkable for a man to desecrate a church altar mid-service and injure officers in the process—and now it’s something that happens before 8 a.m. This appears not just as a security failure but a reflection of deeper cultural decay.

“I feel sorry for the guy who did this,” Thumma said. “And why he did it, we don’t know.” That may be true, but the mounting frequency of these incidents suggests more than coincidence. Something is badly broken in this country’s moral infrastructure.

Faith-Based Communities Seek Restitution and Peace

Religious communities are being asked to carry on while absorbing yet another blow, literally and spiritually. While the criminal justice system processes the offender, churches are scrubbing floors and reeling emotionally in the meantime.

There’s a quiet dignity in how Rev. Thumma continues to serve, ushering people through a side door so they don’t have to see the foul work defiling their sacred spaces. But no faith community should have to live like this, perpetually reacting to desecration with civility.

If churches can no longer be considered safe zones, then what does that say about society’s priorities? The church's doors will likely remain open as they always have, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the country should act like nothing's happening.