Mountlake Terrace congregation targeted by vandals for third time in five months

A community is feeling hurt after a beloved church was vandalized over the weekend. St. Pius X Catholic Church was tagged with graffiti depicting satanic symbols in the early morning hours Sunday, Oct. 30. The church building itself, as well as a car in the parking lot, were tagged.

“We were horrified and dismayed when we saw the graffiti,” said church administrator Aimee Do. “In the morning, the Sunday churchgoers discovered graffiti on the glass windows, the main doors, and the wall. They called the police, and they came right away.”

(Photo courtesy of St. Pius X Catholic Church)

“Several parishioners expressed concerns, feeling unsafe and that our church was violated,” Do said.

This is not the first time this congregation has been vandalized. On June 25, a rock was thrown through the front window of the church. A few weeks later, another incident followed, involving someone trying to burn a tablecloth on an altar table.

(Photo courtesy of St. Pius X Catholic Church)

Church members were notified by email that the building was targeted by vandals. Parishioners were able to assist with the cleanup.

Mountlake Terrace Police were made aware of the incident in the early morning hours on Sunday. Commander Scott King says he believes multiple juveniles were involved in the incident.

“It’s not a daily event, but it happens here and there,” King said about juvenile-related crimes occurring in Mountlake Terrace. “My gut feeling is that it was just opportunity. Probably a bunch of kids…they had spray paint and ended up [at the church].”

King also says that no other churches in the area have been targeted by vandals recently.

Facilities manager Paul Brown orchestrated the cleanup effort along with other volunteers. It took roughly three hours to paint over the vandalism. Previously, the church spent $3,000 to replace the broken window from the June incident.

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