Old North News

Two Zebulon, North Carolina, teens are accused of breaking doors and windows, setting fires and more to several churches in the town, and it’s possible the vandals used church equipment to do some of the damage.

"We have a hand bell choir, and they picked one of those bells – one of those smaller ones,” Sheri Hester, Zebulon Baptist Church, said in a WRAL report. “We found it outside a window, so we assumed they used that to break a window.”

Zebulon Baptist, Zebulon United Methodist Church, and the Zebulon Lions Club were all targeted Oct. 14, according to WRAL. The pair allegedly caused approximately $30,000 of damage, according to police.

"They ransacked the buildings, breaking windows and doors, damaging office furnishings, burning carpet, and stealing electronics,” the police stated, the report said. “Tens of thousands of dollars in damage were reported from each of these community fixtures.”

Hester said they found a busted cement urn and items pulled from drawers scattered all over the floor.

“Some of our livestream equipment and sound equipment was on the floor,” she said. “It looks like it was tossed over the balcony.”

The suspects were captured on camera at a nearby grocery store as they were riding away from their church bicycles, WRAL reported. While church officials are upset about the damage, they are more concerned about why the teens felt the need to be so destructive.

“We are sad for them that they felt the need to mess up things,” Hester said.

Church leaders would love to talk to the teens and listen to whatever is happening and hurting in their life that would cause them to want to destroy the churches and the Lions Club.

"We would invite them to our youth group,” Hester said. “Come and visit us on a Sunday."

The juvenile's names have not been released because they are minors. Each has been served with a juvenile petition, which is akin to an arrest warrant, according to WRAL.