BREAKING Department of Justice to Investigate a Catholic School and Chapel that were Vandalized and Desecrated
Religious Statues Beheaded, Chapel Ransacked in Destructive Attack on Long Beach Catholic School
LONG BEACH, CA – Staff and students at Holy Innocents School arrived Monday morning to find their campus devastated after a targeted overnight break-in. The vandals focused their destruction on the school’s most sacred items, leaving the community shaken by the level of disrespect and violence shown toward their place of worship and education.
U.S. Assistant Attorney General (AAG) for the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice, Harmeet Kaur Dhillon, posted that there will be a DOJ investigation into the incident.
A Scene of Devastation
The destruction was first discovered early Monday morning, February 2, by Principal Cyril Cruz. Upon entering the campus, she found that the assembly hall, chapel, and several classrooms had been systematically ransacked. Following an investigation by law enforcement it was found that the tabernacle was not breached and the hosts, though damaged, remained inside.
The damage was both extensive and deeply personal for the Catholic community:
Sacred Icons Targeted: Multiple statues of the Virgin Mary were defaced or smashed, with some having their hands and heads severed.
Desecration of the Chapel: The tabernacle—the most sacred vessel in the chapel—was ripped from its place and found with its doors partially pried open.
Widespread Vandalism: Prayer books were torn from shelves and scattered across floors, while curtains were ripped down and cabinets were torn from the walls.
Theft and Infrastructure Damage: The school’s internet lines were intentionally cut. Audiovisual equipment was pulled from closets and stacked on carts as if prepared for transport, and musical instruments, including guitars, were damaged.
“This is like my home,” Principal Cruz told the Long Beach Post, describing the feeling of violation. Even the smallest details were not spared; peg dolls used for teaching the school’s youngest students were found scattered and destroyed.
Police and Community Response
The Long Beach Police Department was called to the scene around 7:00 a.m. According to Tony Tripp, the school’s director of advancement, arriving officers expressed shock at the sheer scale of the vandalism.
While the motive remains unclear and the perpetrators have not yet been identified, the school chose to remain open on Monday to provide a sense of stability for the students. Taryn Dyogi, a member of the school community, praised Principal Cruz’s leadership, noting that keeping the children together helped prevent a sense of confusion and fear.
The school wrote:Today in the morning Staff at Holy Innocents Catholic School in Long Beach, California, arrived to discover the school assembly hall, chapel, and classrooms had been broken into and desecrated. What appears to have been multiple perpetrators smashed statues and ruined images of our Lady, other statues as well, and threw the tabernacle down. A call was made at 7:00 AM local time to Law Enforcement. The Bishop was on site with the staff assessing the situation as they waited for law enforcement. Bishop, Mark Trudeau said that it is the worst case of vandalism that he's ever seen in the region.
To donate directly to Holy Innocents School, please visit this website: https://www.lbcatholicschool.com/support-our-school
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