INWOOD — A homeless man damaged a church's Nativity scene after breaking into a box holding the religious figures to sleep where "Jesus would lay his head," police and clergy said.
The unidentified man broke into the wooden box at Church of the Good Shepherd at 4967 Broadway Monday afternoon, surprising police who responded to reports of it being vandalized, the NYPD said.
Although the glass encasing the box was broken, nothing else was damaged or stolen, church Rev. Robert Abbatiello said.
The church was able to put the Jesus, Mary and Joseph statues back into the box after they were found near the scene, he added.
“It’s a religious message there perhaps,” Abbatiello said, noting officers found the man sleeping on the hay, where “Jesus would lay his head.”
The man was not arrested, said Deputy Inspector Chris Morello of the 34th Precinct.
The incident, which police initially thought could have been a hate crime, prompted many in the community to reach out to the church to offer donations and support. In 2013, a 9/11 memorial on display at the church was vandalized with spray paint.
Since a company offered to replace the Nativity scene's broken glass for free, Abbatiello said the church wouldn't accept any donations. But he did reach out to residents to thank them for their support.
“We were happy that it wasn’t anything against the church,” Abbatiello said, “and it turned out to be much less than we thought — and much happier.”
