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A woman was arrested after allegedly decapitating a statue of Jesus outside a Long Island Catholic church, police said.
Deyonna Subert, 41, who police described as “undomiciled,” was charged with second-degree criminal mischief in connection with damage to a Sacred Heart of Jesus statue at St. Mary’s Church in East Islip, according to Suffolk County Police.
Police said the statue at the church, located at 118 East Main St., was damaged on May 15 at approximately 11:15 p.m.
“After an investigation by Hate Crimes Unit detectives, Deyonna Subert was arrested outside of 221 West Main Street in Bay Shore at 6:39 a.m.,” Suffolk County Police said in a press release Wednesday.
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The severed head of a Sacred Heart of Jesus statue is shown outside St. Mary’s Church in East Islip, N.Y., after the statue was vandalized. (News 12 Long Island)
Subert was held overnight at the Fourth Precinct and was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday at First District Court in Central Islip, police said.
Churchgoers discovered the statue’s head missing Sunday morning as parishioners gathered for services and First Communion celebrations, according to News12 Long Island video from the scene.
“Across the way into the auditorium, we had first communions and this is where the kids come and they take their picture,” St. Mary’s pastor Father Anthony Iaconis told News12.
Father Anthony Iaconis holds the severed head of a Sacred Heart of Jesus statue outside St. Mary’s Church in East Islip, N.Y., after the statue was vandalized. (News 12 Long Island)
Iaconis said he later found the statue’s head in nearby bushes.
“I think everyone would be upset by it,” longtime parishioner Regina Vavricka told the outlet.
“Whether you belong to this parish or not, or whether you’re Catholic or Jewish, it doesn’t really matter.”
A Sacred Heart of Jesus statue stands without its head outside St. Mary’s Church in East Islip, N.Y., after the statue was vandalized. (News 12 Long Island)
The church’s pastor said donations had already begun coming in to help repair the statue, which was expected to be fixed within days.
“Yeah, it’s a terrible thing,” Iaconis said. “I just ask people to pray for the person who did this. It’s not right, but we can still pray for them.”
Detectives from the department’s Hate Crimes Unit investigated the incident.
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“A criminal charge is an accusation,” Suffolk County Police said in the release. “A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.”
Suffolk County Police did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for additional comment.