New Jersey Church Vandal Arrested After Being Caught On Security Camera

A man was arrested Sunday evening in connection with the vandalism of five African-American New Jersey churches over the weekend in Morris County, authorities said.

Zuri C. Towns, 45, of Morristown, was arrested by detectives after he confessed to breaking signs and windows at the churches, Morris County Prosecutor’s Office said.

The five churches that were vandalized are Church of God in Christ for All Saints; Bethel A.M.E. Church; Calvary Baptist Church and Union Baptist Church in Morristown; and Morristown Church of Christ in Morris Township.

The churches were targeted during the overnight hours between Friday and Saturday, authorities said.

Detectives were led to Towns as a result of a surveillance cam footage provided to the police by the churches, prosecutors said. Towns was found near his home, which is reportedly close to several of the churches, prosecutors said. The footage showed him throwing rocks at a glass window of a church.

Towns, who as a child was said to have attended services at one of the churches he targeted, was charged with four counts of criminal mischief.

Authorities said that the former parishioner admitted that he acted alone, and thus they were no longer investigating the damage as a bias attack.

Security footage posted on YouTube by CBS News showed the suspect in a red hoodie and jacket, walking up to the corner of Church of God in Christ for All Saints on Rowe Street around 6:45 a.m. EST on Saturday, and limply tossing a rock at the building.

"It angered me," said the pastor of the church, Rev. Robert Rogers. "It really angered me to see someone disrespect a place of worship."

"It doesn't feel too good — it really doesn't," added churchgoer Edward Taborn. "In either one of these churches, as long as I've been here, this is the first time I've seen something like this happen."

"It wasn’t a good throw, he wasn’t a strong guy," a 17-year-old worshipper named Tahj Valentine said prior to the arrest, as he vacuumed up the glass before the services began on Sunday. "He side-armed it, he’s obviously not a baseball player."

The young worshipper added, "The devil is not going to stop us. But he’s welcome to come here and repent."

"We’re going to pray for him now," a fellow church-goer Porsche Robinson added. "We can’t be fearful," according to the New York Post.

Pastor Rogers, who provided the footage to the police, said, "You would never think this would happen in a place of worship."

"It’s a sacred place. You don’t desecrate places of worship, but I guess we’re living in different times. I guess this is what happens now."

"We’re not going to let this stop us from worshipping," he added.

New Jersey Governor-elect Phil Murphy also tweeted, saying that he was "disgusted" and disturbed by the vandalism spree.