“A huge amount of damage, you don’t want to know that”, Lauran Mol describes the smearing of the H. Lambertuskerk in Etten-Leur. He lives next to the building that was daubed with paint on Friday night. “Repairing this is going to cost a lot.”
Anyone who walks past the H. Lambertuskerk on Saturday will encounter a strange scene. Tape crosses have been stuck to the large wooden doors. On the steps in front of the entrance are old books, pens and a pair of scissors. On the side is a jar of green beans.
The pillars, doors and steps are smeared with black paint. A black hand of paint adorns the middle pillar. A text is written on the stones in front of the church: ‘Man is the cruelest animal, did you know that?’
“Very disturbing that this is happening just like that.”
The police have cordoned off the front of the church with red and white tape. “The pillars are made of a special kind of sandstone,” sighs neighbor Lauran Mol. “The paint soaks right in.” He is disappointed that someone has damaged the church so much. “It’s very disturbing that this is happening just like that.”
According to Mol, it happens more often in Etten-Leur. “Some time ago, for example, someone pasted strange texts on the Sacred Heart statue in front of the church,” he says. “They were all articles in a foreign language. It seemed from some religion.”
“It’s unprecedented, really freaky.”
Ine Adventure lives a little further away. She saw the destruction when she went shopping on Saturday morning. “I was shocked. It’s unprecedented, really freaky. It looks like a seriously psychotic person did this.”
Police arrested a suspect Friday night. It concerns a 30-year-old man from Etten-Leur. “I am happy with that arrest,” says neighbor Mol. But will the costs ultimately be recovered from the perpetrator? He doubts that. “Usually that doesn’t work, but the judge will probably take care of that.”
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