West Kendall, Florida: A catholic church found out that a Jesus Christ statue that they had outside it was beheaded.

Authorities believe that the incident is a hate crime.

The incident happened at the Good Shepherd Catholic Church in West Kendall, Florida.

The statue was in the courtyard and was vandalized between Tuesday evening and the morning of Wednesday.

The Miami-Dade police and the Department of Homeland Security are currently investigating the case.

Mary Ross Agosta, a spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Miami, said:

This is an attack on the church, this is not only private property, but it is also sacred property.

Church personnel reportedly found the statues with their head on the ground.

Surveillance footage was also handed over to the police.

The Good Shepherd church released a statement about the incident, where they said:

This incident has saddened the parish community. It is too soon to arrive to any conclusion, but we have seen other churches vandalized around the country. We totally “condemn” this action. We invite our community to pray for peace.

Argemis Colome, a police spokesperson, said:

People find peace at these types of places, especially during these times. We want to ensure the community that MDPD will look into the matter so people can continue to feel safe.

The church has hired an overnight security guard since the incident.