Vandals trash Sandy LDS meetinghouse

SANDY — Vandals caused more than $100,000 damage to an LDS meetinghouse at 1880 E. 9900 South sometime Friday night or Saturday morning. Police said it's the worst vandalism in a church they have ever seen.

Pianos, file cabinets and a refrigerator were turned over. Police believed the vandals used the legs of chairs to punch holes in the walls and ceiling tiles. In one room a chair was still stuck in the wall.

Paint was splashed on the walls, ceiling and carpet of the Relief Society room.

Every faucet and toilet in the church was broken, flooding many of the rooms. Computers were tossed about. Nearly every picture was torn off the wall and smashed. Glass fragments from broken light fixtures and bulletin boards were everywhere in the building

"I don't think there's any place they didn't get," church member David Scott said. "Whoever did it was very angry."

Fire extinguishers were sprayed in the chapel, leaving a film coating on everything. Hymn books

were ripped and chairs were tossed throughout the chapel. About the only item in the church that appears to have been spared major damage was the chapel organ.

"I have never seen vandalism like this before," Sandy police Sgt. Kevin Thacker said. "The magnitude is incredible."

Investigators said there was no evidence to suggest this was a hate crime.

Based on the extent of the damage and some footprints found in the church, detectives believed two or more people went on a destruction spree for at least two hours, Thacker said.

The vandals went through a window that was either left open or unlocked, Thacker said. There were no signs of forced entry.

The church serves the Willow Canyon 2nd and 5th wards in the Sandy Utah East Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"My reaction is sadness and frustration," Stake President Barry Newbold said. "I'm sad for all the people who are displaced, frustrated for such a senseless act."

A neighbor reported seeing some suspicious people, who appeared to be in their late teens, in the area Friday night.

Investigators would like anyone with information about the vandalism to call Sandy police. The people who caused the damage will likely brag about it at some point, Thacker said. Police hope someone will overhear their bragging and report it.