An American tourist was arrested by Israeli police on suspicion of vandalism in a Christian church in the Old City in Jerusalem. This was reported by the press service of the police on Twitter.
“After receiving a signal this morning, Israeli police arrested an American tourist suspected of vandalizing a statue in a church in the Old City of Jerusalem,” – said in a statement from the department.
Police say a 40-year-old American was caught red-handed. He entered the church and smashed one of the statues there.
The suspect was taken to the police station, where he will be interrogated. In addition, experts assess the state of mental health of a man.
It is also emphasized that law enforcement officials take damage to religious sites very seriously. The police stressed that they intend to continue to act decisively against violence and vandalism in the holy places of all religions.
Let’s remind, in the end of January in a synagogue of Israel there was a terrorist attack. On January 27, a man broke into the city synagogue and opened fire. Eight people were killed and ten were injured. Police believe the attacker was a 21-year-old East Jerusalem resident of Arab origin. He was quickly eliminated. Israel recognized the incident as a terrorist attack.
Later on Holocaust Remembrance Day, a 13-year-old also opened fire in Jerusalem. The shooting occurred during the evening prayer in the city of David.