16 Indiana churches burglarized in a few weeks
Johnson County Indiana is making headlines after more than a dozen churches were burglarized over the last few weeks.
New Life baptist church, one of the churches robbed Photo/New Life baptist church website
WISH TV reports that expensive instruments, electronics, tools and cash have been taken from several churches in the Johnson County area.
Franklin Christian Fellowship Church was robbed for $400 and faces hundreds more in repair costs from damage done to the facility.
“They just opened all the drawers and went through all of our cabinets and went through all of our closets and didn’t find anything. We don’t usually keep money here except for the pop machine,” said Pastor Jeff Souders of FCFC.
Sheriff Doug Cox says investigators are connected the robberies, which are no longer believed to be isolated incidents.
“We’ll have an occasional church burglary, but nothing like were experiencing right now,” Cox said.
WISH adds that the sheriff said he has already increased patrols around churches. Investigators are also asking the public to report any suspicious activities around churches. Both Cox and Souders said churches are easy targets because many lack updated security measures.
“We’re not fortresses,” Souders said. “We are welcoming communities. We’re communities that want to reach out and not build up walls. It makes us an easy target.”
