(NYDAILYNEWS) — An emotionally disturbed man went berzerk in an East Village church, smashing statues, crucifixes and other sacred artifacts worth more than $100,000, police said Saturday.
“I was praying,” Michael Torres told cops when he was caught red-handed inside the Church of the Immaculate Conception on E. 14th St. near First Ave. about 10 p.m. Wednesday, officials said.
Police found Torres surrounded by 14 smashed statues, hand-carved out of wood about 75 years ago, representing the stations of the cross.
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“With his bare hands he ripped every one off the wall and threw them on the floor,” astonished parish manager John Matcovich told the Daily News.
