'Anti-Christian' vandal seen daubing 'hate crime slogans' across US churches - while draped in Pride flag

Footage from CCTV cameras showed the vandal with his face covered by a rainbow bandana as he wrote "cult" and "anti-gay cult" on the outside of church buildings.

According to the New York Police Department (NYPD), he also defaced two religious statues.

Authorities said that all three churches were targeted in the early hours of October 5 within a 20-minute period.

He is understood to have then fled the scene on a Citi Bike, New York's controversial bike-sharing programme run by Lyft.

The suspect is wanted for multiple acts of criminal mischief as a hate crime.

The Refuge Church of Christ on Mott Avenue was the first church hit with the NYPD saying the crime took place at around 1.40am.

The force discovered "anti-gay cult" written in black spray paint across the front of the religious building.

The suspect allegedly scrawled the same message less than five minutes later on the front door of the City of Oasis Church of Deliverance.

The two churches are around two minutes away from each other by foot.

At around 2am, the vandal allegedly sprayed "welcome cult members" on St Mary's Star of the Sea Church on New Haven Avenue.

It was there that he allegedly also defaced the two statues.

Authorities reported no injuries during the incidents, and police are investigating the vandalism as hate crimes.

So far, there have been no arrests made in connection to the case, and police are urging anyone with information to come forward.

From January to September 2024, the NYPD was made aware of 496 hate crime incidents, according to the city's latest statistics report.

The force made some 217 arrests in connection to the incidents, with the majority taking place in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

During that time period, only 12 of the complaints were anti-Catholic and five were anti-Protestant.

Tips can be reported to the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS or on the CrimeStoppers website.