Presbyterian church in North Phoenix deals with vandalism incident
PHOENIX (FOX 10) -- A few blocks away from a fire that destroyed a Catholic church in Phoenix, investigators are looking into a burglary and vandalism incident at a Presbyterian church.
As of Wednesday, it is still unclear if this incident is related to the church fire.
On Wednesday, cleanup efforts are ongoing.
"They broke in, and because of the fire down the street, police took evidence," said Pastor Jennifer Fraser.
Pastor Fraser said the church's groundskeeper arrived to a broken door Wednesday morning, and more damage inside.
"They broke a TV set and sprayed some fire extinguishers. Ransacked the kitchen and some cabinets," said Pastor Fraser.
Damages to the TV and leftover dust from where a fire extinguisher was unloaded are visible. In addition, a school next to Emmanuel Presbyterian was also vandalized.
"There will be a lot of disappointment as people start to realize someone broke in, but this is a strong congregation and they have strong faith," said pastor Fraser. "Certainly with our church, we have a lot of work to do to get back up and running in or fellowship hall, but anything beyond that, I don't think we're ready for that yet."