Watch CBS News

Vandals Break Glass, Write Racial Slur At North Highlands Church

NORTH HIGHLANDS (CBS13) - Broken glass and a racial slur written on the doors shook church leaders at Murph-Emmanuel AME Church in North Highlands.

"It's heartbreaking," said Dr. Carieta Cain Grizzell, a pastor at Murph-Emmanuel. "This is not something I thought would happen in Northern California."

A church trustee arrived to open the church around 8 a.m. on Saturday. He found the front window broken, the stained glass behind it shattered and the "N" word written twice on the church's front doors.

"We realized that the climate has changed, politically, in America and we're just saddened," Grizzell said.

She said one of the trustees locked up around 9 p.m. on Friday and didn't see the vandalism until they opened up the church on Saturday morning. That's when the trustee called 911 to report a hate crime.

Steward pro-tem Joseph Johnson told CBS13 that by the looks of the writing, he thinks the slur could have been written by a child who had nothing better to do.

"If, in fact, that is the case, he learned that from somewhere," Johnson said.

He and Pastor Grizzell called the vandalism fueled by hate unacceptable.

"We'll pray for the person or persons who have done this," Grizzell said.

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department is collecting evidence to try to piece together what happened.

With the church's service set for Sunday, Pastor Grizzell doesn't plan to wash the doors before Sunday's service. Instead, she plans to use this as an opportunity to teach about the dangers of hate.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.