Saskatoon police are investigating an incident involving property damage and a possible hate crime over the weekend. The incident stems from Saturday when a man witnessed someone striking a gas line with an axe outside of Westside Pentecostal Church 3400 block of Fairlight Drive. However, when officers arrived at the scene, the suspect fled. The witness described the suspect as a man between the ages of 25 and 35 who had a dark goatee. He’s said to have been wearing a black jacket with a hood, grey sweatpants, white socks and black running shoes. The gas line was ultimately not severed, and no one was injured. Since the reported incident involved a place of worship, members of the Saskatoon police hate crime unit are also aiding the investigation. Robert Shepherd, the lead pastor at Westside Pentecostal spoke to CTV News, expressing thanks to the community for its assistance. “We’re very thankful that someone intervened and then the person fled and that there’s no serious damage done. But we’re concerned about the safety of the church and other churches in the area,” he said. “We’ve experienced some vandalism before. Like we’ve had broken windows. But nothing like this. Nothing as serious as this.” Shepherd said he is both concerned and disappointed in the wake of the incident, but noted there is not enough information available to confirm a motive behind the incident. Shepherd said no one was in the church at the time. According to the pastor, the church does have security cameras, but they do not cover the area of the gas line. Saskatoon police are asking anyone with information about the occurrence to contact them or Crime Stoppers.
