Sticky bandits
delay church services

Countless worshipers found themselves locked out of at least eight Northeast Philadelphia churches on Nov. 18 due to irreverent vandals.
Now, police are looking for the individuals who glued all of the doors shut.
Investigators aren’t sure exactly when the vandals did their dirty work, but leaders of numerous congregations in Tacony and Mayfair discovered the damage as they arrived for services that Sunday morning, according to Lt. Mark Burgmann of Northeast Detectives.
Invariably, the troublemakers used a Super Glue-type product to clog up the locks on the church doors, Burgmann said. In some instances, they broke keys off inside the locks before applying the quick-drying glue.
Church officials had no alternative but to call in locksmiths to repair or replace the locks. In several cases, the problems delayed services.
"It’s probably just a prank," Burgmann said. "There were no messages left (by the vandals)."
According to the lieutenant, the incidents appeared to be isolated to the morning in question. The damage was probably done the previous night or perhaps earlier in the weekend, investigators believe.
Church members showed up at the various churches at different times on Sunday morning.
"We went out and processed all of the scenes to see if we could get any fingerprints, and we interviewed all of the neighbors," Burgmann said.
The targeted churches represent seven different Christian denominations.
The list includes Disston Memorial Presbyterian, 4500 Tyson Ave.; First Christian Pentecostal, 4714 Tyson Ave.; Holy Innocents Episcopal, 7001 Torresdale Ave.; Johnson Memorial Methodist, 3117 Longshore Ave.; Mayfair Conwell Memorial Baptist, Tyson and Rowland avenues; St. John Evangelical Lutheran, 3101 Tyson Ave.; St. Matthew Roman Catholic, 3000 Cottman Ave.; and Tacony Baptist, 4715 Disston St.
Anyone with information about the crimes is asked to call Northeast Detectives at 215-686-3153. ••