By Emily Drooby
NYPD looking for a suspect who allegedly walked into the church, in the middle of the afternoon, and stole two guitars, equaling about $4,000.
Police are on the hunt for a man who stole 4,000 dollars’ worth of guitars from Shrine Church of Saint Gerard Majella in Queens. They recently released surveillance video of the crime.
The pastor, Father Josephjude Gannon, says that on October 30th, the suspect walked through the church door, disrespected the sanctuary, and attempted to get into the locked poor box near the shrine of Saint Gerard.
Father Gannon said the suspect went into the sacristy. That’s where the suspect found the two Gibson guitars that he took.
One of those guitars held very special sentimental value to the church’s music director.
Father Gannon, said, “Her father had given it to her 30 years ago as a gift, and her father has since passed away. We can replace things but we can’t replace the reality that it was given to her by her father.”
Father Gannon says he wishes the suspect would have just asked for help. He said, “If he had rang the doorbell in the rectory, we would have helped him.”
NYPD are asking for the public’s help in identifying the suspect, call crimestoppers, at 1-800-577-tips or you can text your tips to crimes and then enter tip577.
Father Gannon explains even though this is a difficult situation, seeing people come together to help the church warms his heart.
Father Gannon, said, “People are generous, people are good. We want to be able to make this right and we want to be able to get ours back but if not, we know that, by God’s grace we will able to figure it out.”
They’ve seen donations coming in from people who have heard the story, they even have recently been talking with a woman who might donate guitars.