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#Man arrested on hate crimes for smashing NYC church windows

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“Man arrested on hate crimes for smashing NYC church windows”

A man accused of smashing in the windows of a Queens church with a huge stick has been busted on hate crime charges, police revealed Sunday.

Tonnie Smith, 32, was taken into custody over the attack on the Community Church of Christ in Jamaica earlier this month.

The Queens man was charged with criminal mischief as a hate crime and aggravated harassment as a hate crime, cops said.

It was reported to police that on Tuesday, March 8, 2022 at 0126 hours at the Community Church of Christ, located at 167-04 108 Avenue, an unidentified male used a stick to brake the front window frame of the main entrance of the church and the glass window located by the front entrance ramp. The unidentified male fled on foot. The investigation, by the NYPD’s Hate Crime Unit, is ongoing. — Tonnie Smith only lives a few blocks away from the church.

Police had been hunting Smith ever since he was caught on surveillance cameras allegedly breaking two glass windows at the front of the church on 108th Avenue just before 1:30 a.m. on March 8.

The footage showed shards of glass flying from both windows in the aftermath.

Smith then fled on foot, according to cops.

The suspect only lives a few blocks away from the church, police said.

A motive for the attack wasn’t immediately clear.

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