STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A new video has surfaced showing the shocking church altar vandalism rampage involving a 28-year-old man that led to the minor injuries of two NYPD officer.
The new footage, shot from about 15 feet away — on the other side of the altar at St. Ann’s R.C. Church in Dongan Hills — shows the officers appear to throw a series of punches, beginning six seconds into the clip. The footage was obtained by ABC 7 New York.
The 68-second video shows the chaotic scene that unfolded on Friday at around 7 a.m. in the 122nd Precinct inside of the church at 103 Cromwell Ave.
An individual damaged an angel statue, a marble floor and other items on the altar during a morning Mass at St. Ann’s R.C. Church in Dongan Hills on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. The Rev. Jacob Thumma, the pastor, holds a broken piece of the angel’s wing.(Advance/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)
In the footage, two police officers, and one male assailant, can be seen throwing closed fist punches. The three struggle knocking over flowers in the process.
The man can be heard making inaudible sounds from the other side of the pulpit.
The video appears to show two officers being observed by a group of parishioners from across the alter.
One officer can be seen reaching for a taser to place on the man that his colleague appeared to strike. The first can be seen holding onto the man as a struggle ensues.
Authorities have yet to identify the man.
An individual damaged an angel statue, a marble floor and other items on the altar during a morning Mass at St. Ann’s R.C. Church in Dongan Hills on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(Advance/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)The church incident
In a shocking rampage, a man vandalized the church while Mass was being celebrated on Friday morning.
A statue of an angel was broken and two NYPD officers were injured as mayhem ensued inside the church at 101 Cromwell Ave., sources told the Advance/SILive.com.
The man snatched, tossed and damaged religious items on the altar during the 7 a.m. Mass, according to the Rev. Jacob Thumma, the pastor.
“We’re just cleaning up the mess now in the church as we speak,” Father Thumma told the Advance/SILive.com later on Friday.
The pastor noted that the vandalism was the second troubling incident at one of his parishes in a little more than two weeks.
Friday’s episode began when the man entered the church after the doors were unlocked prior to the Mass. He allegedly removed the official liturgical book, and a cross from the altar. A priest asked the man to return those items and he complied, Father Thumma said.
The man was sitting in the first pew with his jacket on the floor next to him and some of the parishioners who were frightened by the man’s behavior left the church, the pastor said.
Before the Mass started, someone notified 911, according to the pastor and a law-enforcement source.
After the Mass began, the man allegedly ran onto the altar and tore down flowers and toppled the angel, breaking one of its wings. The marble floor of the altar was damaged during the rampage and the man threw a parishioner’s missal in front of the altar, the pastor said.
Initially, the two responding police officers tried talking to the man, but he became belligerent and violent. The officers deployed a taser before the man was taken into custody, the law-enforcement source.
A witness at the Mass videotaped the incident and the suspect also was captured on footage from parish surveillance cameras, the pastor said.
One officer suffered a knee injury and the other a laceration to the head, the law-enforcement source said. Both injuries were considered minor.
As of Sunday, charges are pending against the man.