Women charged in caught-on-cam incident of church vandalism in Vancouver

Vandalism outside St. Judes in Vancouver. (St. Judes Parish and Shrine/Facebook)

Vancouver — Two women have been charged in connection to vandalism at a Vancouver church, local police announced Friday.

On July 1, orange paint was thrown on the side of St. Jude's Parish. Shortly after the incident, the church posted videos on Facebook that appeared to show multiple people in face masks vandalizing the property. It's unclear how the church obtained the video.

The videos showed multiple people walking up to the front of the church with what appears to be buckets of orange paint. They could be seen spreading paint on exterior walls and windows of the building.

On Friday, the Vancouver Police Department said the B.C. Prosecution Service approved one count of mischief against two 27-year-old women: Emily Luba and Zoe Luba.

In July, Vancouver officers said they were looking into 13 incidents of mischief and vandalism at churches and church properties since the month before. Some of the reports included rocks being thrown at windows, graffiti and threats of buildings being set on fire.

The VPD said at the time damage was relatively minor and nobody was hurt.

"However, we’re growing more concerned each day by the escalation of these crimes and their brazen nature, and we’re calling on the people responsible for these crimes to stop," Sgt. Steve Addison said in a news release issued that month. "There are more productive ways to voice your anger and express your views."

Some speculated the string of church destruction and vandalism across B.C. could be connected to discoveries of unmarked graves at former residential school sites across Canada as most of the schools were run by the Catholic Church.