OGDEN, Utah — The Potter's House Christian Center in Ogden is facing thousands of dollars in repair costs after being the target of vandalism on three separate occasions — each of the three attacks happening in the span of less than one month.
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"The first incident happened on April 25," said Austin Schmidt, the church's assistant pastor. "We were having a wedding that Sunday morning. We walked in to all our windows shattered out, lawn chairs from the park through the windows."
After the first attack in April, the church installed security cameras around the building.
"And usually how that goes: You install them, and it never happens again," Schmidt added.
He said the added security cost the church around $1,000.
"Unfortunately, it happened again. I think May 19," he said. "A group of kids came and just threw rocks from the park through the windows. Knew they were on camera, did it anyway."
The latest bout of vandalism came just 11 days later on May 30.
"Before we could even get that one replaced, all our windows were smashed out again as you can see," Schmidt said. "It's getting costly, and it's like it's time to, you know, figure this out."
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Based off the security camera footage, he believes all three instances were caused by the same group of teens.
"It's pretty sad to see it happen this way, but hopefully they turn their lives around," Schmidt added.
Potter's house is working with Ogden Police to put an end to the vandalism, but the church released some of the surveillance footage on their Facebook page with the hope that someone in the community would recognize the teens.
"People are reaching out saying, 'I know that person, I've got a really good idea who that is,' and so we appreciate the help of the community," Schmidt said.
So far, he said the damage has cost the church over $2,000. Ogden Police encourage anyone with information to contact their crime tip hotline at 801-629-8188.
