Georgia police said crime hit a “new low” after someone stole expensive nativity scenes from outside a Catholic church.
“We know that many in our community are shocked and upset by the theft of the manger pieces from St. Michael Catholic Church,” the Tybee Island Police Department posted on its Facebook page Monday. “We are equally disappointed that someone would steal from one of our local places of worship, especially around the holidays.”
“Stealing baby Jesus just before Christmas is a new low,” the department added in another Facebook post.
Police responded to St. Michael Catholic Church on Saturday after someone reportedly broke the lock on a box containing a manger scene in front of the church. The suspect stole “everything but the shepherds and the wise men,” police said in a crime statement.
SOUTH CAROLINA MOTHER ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY STEALING ORNAMENTS AND CROSSES FROM CHURCHES WITH CHILD IN CHARGE
A Nativity scene in Lviv, Ukraine, on December 18, 2022.
(Olena Znak/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
A priest at the church, Father Jerry Ragan, reported that the stolen statues have an estimated value of $11,000, WJCL reported.
ARKANSAS CITY VOWS TO KEEP CHRISTMAS SCENE ON DISPLAY DESPITE THREAT OF LAWSUIT
This weekend they stole pieces of a nativity scene from a church.
(Tybee Island Police Department/Facebook)
“He’s been here 25 years, and he’s loved by many people in the community and not just our own faith community, but the Tybee community at large,” Ragan added to the outlet.
SATANIC TEMPLE INSTALLS CHRISTMAS DISPLAY AT ILLINOIS CAPITOL NEXT TO BIRTH SCENE, MENORAH
Photos of Nativity pieces stolen from a Catholic church in Georgia.
(Tybee Island Police Department/Facebook)
“You’re always going to have the Grinch stealing Christmas, so there’s a lot of angst in the community that someone would do this,” Ragan added. “But then again, Christ came into a world that wasn’t perfect.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The investigation into the theft is ongoing, according to police. Fox News Digital reached out to the police department regarding updates on the case, but did not immediately receive a response.
