SASKATOON -- Saskatoon police arrested a man early Wednesday morning after officers found him throwing rocks at the police headquarters downtown, according to a news release.
Officers also found fresh orange spray paint on the side of the building, police say. The man was taken into custody without incident and during his arrest police said the man told officers he spray painted three churches.
Officers attended to churches in the 200 block of Second Street East, the 600 block of Dufferin Avenue and the 600 block of Avenue I South and found spray paint on them, police say.
A 36-year-old man is facing three charges of committing mischief for reasons of bias, prejudice, or hate based on religion.
He also faces charges of mischief for damage caused to police headquarters along with breach of conditions. The accused is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday afternoon.
Police say that since the beginning of May, they have charged the same man with eight counts of mischief, six of which were mischief for reasons of bias, prejudice, or hate based on religion.
Shawn Denham, hall manager at St. George’s Anglican Church, said the incident hit him hard.
“I felt sad. I feel for the person that did this. Obviously they have something wrong. But I do forgive them, that’s just part of me. And the way I look at it, they probably need some kind of help. And I hope they can find the help they need.”
He said it will likely take a few days to clean up the mess.
Karen Fraser Gitlitz, minister of Saskatoon Unitarians, called the graffiti distressing.
"We’re a welcoming congregation, where we promote and affirm respect for the inherent worth and dignity of every person and that includes all people, lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, transgender folks are welcome and encouraged and we don’t stand for the message that this person put on our door and we’ll be removing it.
“It was very disappointing and distressing to see this message on our door this morning. It’s not what we stand for. Our concern and love goes out to all those who were affected by it and we will be taking it down as soon as we can.”
She said it’s important to recognize that this is the work of one person not how the community in general feels.
"So, it’s really important for us to get the word out for ourselves and for the other churches that were affected by this, that we stand for love and that all people are beloved and that is our work to let people know that.
“I’m very sorry for the individual that felt the need to put this on our door, but it’s not our message and it’s not the message we want to share with the world.”
Her church has asked people on its Facebook page to share messages of love.
“This is a really difficult time in the life of our community and those who are feeling marginalized are feeling especially so. So it’s really important to reach out if you know someone who might be affected by this message. Just give them a call, send them a text, post on Facebook that they’re in your hearts because this is what we need to do. Love is love and love is stronger than hate.”
