INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Vandals hit the First Church of Cannabis–and it’s not the first time.
“It’s targeting without a doubt, it is definitely a hate crime,” said Pastor Bill Levin.
Levin discovered the damage on Sunday. A brown “X” was sprayed painted on the front sign, fencing was torn and some gutters were ripped from the roof.
“What’s wrong with you, really? You’re supposed to love your neighbor; you’re supposed to help your neighbor,” said Levin.
This time, the trouble didn’t make it inside the building. The church opened in July 2015 and Pastor Levin tells FOX59, vandalism has been ongoing problem.
“If people are disturbed enough in our community to mess with a religious organization they obviously have a very sad heart and they obviously have a lot of emotional problems. They need help,” he said.
Just two weeks ago, Levin had to call police for help, not for his church, this time it was for his pet peacock.
“Somebody obviously put their foot on his back and pulled out all his feathers and then he stumbled about 12 feet under another bush and passed away.”
Levin had 12 years with Bert. He doesn’t think there’s any connection between Bert’s death and the recent vandalism. The clean-up won’t cost the church that much, but Levin feels it’s more about more than money, it’s about doing what’s right and admitting you’ve made a mistake.
“I love everybody, but there are some people who need life lessons and I would really love for those people to get life lessons be it through incarceration or through community service or both,” Levin said.
The church’s next service is Wednesday at 7:30. If you know anything that could help detectives solve either of the cases, call Crime Stoppers.
