Church burglaries related, CPD says
Four places of worship were burglarized overnight last Tuesday and Wednesday in Columbia.
Columbia Police Department spokeswoman Jessie Haden said that all the burglaries happened over night and in the south part of town.
“Our common sense tells us they’re related,” Haden said.
The Columbia Chinese Christian Church at 3316 Rock Quarry Road, Christian Chapel Church at 3300 S. Providence Road, Alive in Christ Lutheran Church at 201 Southhampton Drive and Congregation of Beth Shalom at 500 W. Green Meadows Road were burglarized.
Haden said that when homes are burglarized, it is usually in the daytime when the occupants are out of the house. It is different with places of worship.
“That’s the really frustrating thing for us with burglaries,” Haden said. “We see churches which are closed in overnight and are burglarized in the night hours.”
CPD has not received any calls with information on the burglaries but thinks that young people were involved. Haden said property damage was the most common result of the burglaries.
“There were either no items stolen or a little bit of cash or wine was missing,” Haden said. “More valuable items were not disturbed or taken.”