Shots fired on Religious Icons on Thasos island

Icons depicting Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary, have been shot in two churches on the northern Aegean island of Thasos.

The shocking discovery was made on Monday by worshippers who visited the churches of Agia Marina and Agios Vasileios, located outside the island capital of Limena.

The perpetrator, reportedly a young man with mental problems, was arrested by police on Wednesday.

In a statement released by the local church authority, they believe the vandalism was not due to any manifestation of hatred against Christianity and its sanctuaries, but was rather a “dishonest and inappropriate” act by “a person in need of psychological and medical support and treatment. This act was clearly an irrational and inappropriate move, due to the difficult family environment and the abnormal teenage development of the offender.”

The vandalism has prompted authorities on the island to order locks to be placed on the two chapels.