East Point church reports nearly a dozen break-ins since last May

EAST POINT, Ga. - Church leaders at Headland Heights United Methodist in East Point have filed nearly a dozen police reports over the last year stemming from break-ins and incidents of vandalism. 

It’s cost the small congregation upwards of $12,000 to repair and replace what’s been damaged according to Board of Trustees Chairwoman Jacquelyn Jones. 

"We just want them to stop vandalizing our church and find a better purpose in life," Jones said.

She told FOX 5 that the break-ins started in May of last year and continued even after the church had surveillance cameras installed on the exterior of the building in July. 

"We have surveillance cameras around and they took something and tried to break the cameras, so it wouldn’t record them," she said. 

Jones said the most recent incident was on May 12. 

"They have broken out all the windows and the doors of the church. Just last week they broke out the windows in the education building," she recalled. "It’s very frustrating that they haven’t caught them yet."

While Jones said they believe the culprits are kids, it’s a problem that has created a growing financial and physical burden on Headland Heights United Methodist with each new incident. 

"The expense of having things repaired is very hard on us because we are small, and it’s just been very taxing on us doing the cleanup and just getting people out here to repair what they damaged," she explained. 

Church leaders are worried about the summer break ahead. The break-ins may begin to happen even more frequently. 

"We’re concerned it’s going to get worse with school being out…that they don’t have anything to do and they’ll probably come back and do more damage." 

Jones told Fox 5 they don’t want anything to happen to the kids responsible. Instead, they’re hoping that parents or family members will recognize them and take action to get them on the right path. 

"Something to keep them active that will hold their interest to where they would’ve come out and do this sort of thing," she added. 
No arrests have been made at this time. If you have any information that could help East Point Police, you can call the department at 404 761-2177.