Criminals Target Catholics Attending Christmas Eve Mass in New York
Charlie Kirk Staff
12/27/2024

Criminals in upstate New York targeted Catholics during Christmas Masses, striking at least two church parking lots while services were underway.
In Rochester, New York, attendees at two different churches fell victim to the crimes, with car windows smashed, belongings stolen from vehicles, and at least one car reported stolen.
Several parishioners attending midnight Mass at St. Marianne Cope Catholic Church were among those affected. According to local news outlet WHAM 13, no suspects have been identified, the Daily Wire reported.
Meanwhile, on Christmas Eve, over a dozen cars were broken into, and at least one vehicle was stolen near St. Joseph’s Church in Penfield, a suburb of Rochester. The targeted parishioners had parked their vehicles at a nearby elementary school, likely due to overflow from the church’s crowded services, the outlet reported.
“I mean, this is typically a safe area from what we understand,” parishioner Mark Elsaesser told News10NBC. “We’ve been coming here a long time. Never seen anything like this happen, especially on the holidays, Christmas time.”
“My wife and I got married here,” he added. “We’ve had our daughter baptized here, so we’ve been coming here a very long time, and nothing like this has ever happened.”
Like the robberies at St. Marianne Cope Catholic Church, authorities have yet to identify any suspects; both incidents remain under investigation, the report said.
In a separate incident on Christmas morning in Rochester, criminals targeted vehicles on Park Avenue near downtown, smashing the windows of 13 cars.