Man arrested after multiple Buddhist temples in Lower Manhattan vandalized
CHINATOWN, Manhattan (WABC) -- A vandal struck at least twice Tuesday morning, damaging precious statues at Buddhist temples in Lower Manhattan, but members of the community say there were even more acts of vandalism.
At the core of Buddhism is the teaching of non-violence, but someone took a violent path to a handful of beautiful Buddhist temples in Chinatown overnight.
Around 1 a.m. Tuesday, someone grabbed the fire extinguisher at Sung Tak Buddhist Temple on Pike Street, and whacked the large statue gracing the front, then smashed a smaller statue to pieces.
In the light of day, you can see the small statue reduced to shards, and the hands severed from the larger figure, which represents the female version of Buddha.
"This is what we call 'Guanyin,'" said Sung Tak Buddhist Temple Master Jie Tong. "In our culture, every family describes her as the Maria in other religions. This is what we pray to."
If the first act of vandalism wasn't offensive enough, Eyewitness News was told the suspect came back a few hours later and ate the oranges left as offerings.
That was also captured on surveillance.
At the World Buddhist Center on Henry Street, a man can be seen knocking out the surveillance cameras, but not before a pretty clear image was captured. His photo is now posted on the temple's door.
Meanwhile, at Grace Gratitude Buddhist Temple on East Broadway, they just installed bullet-proof glass recently to protect their statues, only to arrive Tuesday morning to find one of the windows shattered.
"I'm very sad about it because to have something as beautiful as these temples being damaged like this, is just too terrible," said Grace Gratitude Buddhist Temple Abbess Jingyi Shi.
Thankfully, an arrest has been made but not before at least five temples suffered property damage.
Police say a 49-year-old suspect was arrested and charged with a series of hate crimes.
So far, he has been charged for vandalizing three locations: Mahayana Temple Buddhist Association, Pu Chao Buddhist Temple and Huang Da Xian Taoist Temple.
It's not yet clear his connection, if any, to the other reported incidents of vandalism at Buddhist temples.
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