MOUNT HOLLY, N.C. — Police in Mount Holly are trying to find two people who vandalized a cross at a church on Easter morning.
The Mount Holly Police Department posted a surveillance video to its Facebook page of a person running across the lawn to cut down a cross with a saw. It happened at the Cornerstone Family Worship Center on Rankin Avenue just past midnight on Sunday.
The video shows the person going back to their car to take off. They appeared to have come prepared to take down the cross. Police said the vandal had an accomplice.
The Mount Holly Police Department contacted the FBI to determine whether federal charges may be appropriate in the ethnic intimidation case.
The church’s pastor said having the crime happen on Easter is particularly troubling.
“Very disheartening,” said the Rev. Kevin McClure, who spoke with Channel 9 via Zoom. “I think it was disrespectful, distasteful.”
The vandalism did not stop the church’s services.
The pastor said after the sunrise service, something remarkable happened.
Some men decided to replace the cross.
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Church member Ricky Smith was one of the first to arrive.
“They just started coming out everywhere,” Smith said. “They needed ladders on top of trucks and each other.”
The rebuilt cross was in place by the time Easter service began.
Smith said he cried.
“It was just so heart-touching,” Smith said.
The day began with an awful act and ended with joy.
“The church was full,” McClure said. “Couldn’t ask for a better day.”
McClure said the vandal should apologize to God, and he must be held accountable in court.
Meanwhile, the cross is still standing and ready to greet churchgoers.
Mount Holly police said officers will patrol houses of worship in the city.
If you have any information about the crime, you are asked to call the police at 704-827-4343.
“You can’t keep God’s people down”
— Ken (@kenlemonWSOC9) April 12, 2023
Security cameras capture a man cutting down the cross at a Mt. Holly Church on Easter Sunday. Men at Cornerstone Family Worship replaced it right after sunrise service. Their story of joy over vandalism on @wsoctv pic.twitter.com/KxkvXplWuh
(WATCH BELOW: Park rangers report increase in vandalism on Blue Ridge Parkway)
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