Members of an East Bay Orthodox church say someone broke into their temple, set fire to several religious artifacts, and took nothing but cash from an adjacent daycare center.
Burnt pages from a holy bible, a charred crucifix and ashes were found around an altar.
“This is The Holy Bible that was in the altar. That was burnt as well as the place where we baptize our children,” said Ana Mourne.
She said her church was attacked early Monday.
“Oh my God, it was like somebody put a knife in my heart,” she said.
She’s a member of the Ascension of the Lord Romanian Orthodox Church in Hayward where firefighters say they responded to reports of smoke and found several religious artifacts set on fire.
Chairs and tables were also damaged.
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“I felt violated, I felt very hurt, it's very emotional, this is very important to me and it's so hard,” said Mourne.
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The suspect, or suspects, were able to get in after they damaged a door handle to the main entrance to the church.
Firefighters say that when they showed up, the power was cut off. So the cameras weren’t working, and say in addition to starting several small fires, the culprit took off with a cash box that was inside an office.
But Mourne said that office belongs to the daycare center, so nothing was actually taken from the church
“That's why it's so painful to see. What is their message to us? And what can we do to keep our faith, to keep doing what we're doing? We're not bothering anybody,” she said.
Hayward police have not confirmed if any arrests have been made and if this is being investigated as a hate crime.
While those answers come to light, Mourne said she’s locking up for a few days and hoping they won’t be back.
