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Police To Patrol Warren Churches After Vandalism (April 3, 2007)

Warren police plan to increase patrols near houses of worship after a church on the city’s north side was spray painted with ethnic slurs on Monday.
St. Mary’s Church, 4320 Fourteen Mile, was vandalized sometime Monday. The church is not scheduled to open until May. City spokesman Joe Munem said the vandalism was derisive toward Arabs and non-Christians.
What the vandals didn’t realize is that the church is expected to serve predominantly Christian of Assyrian descent. The church sits along the northern border of the city.
Chief Jere Green said neighboring police departments, including Sterling Heights, are helping with the investigation.
Monday was not the first time that a house of worship intended for people of Middle Eastern descent has dealt with vandalism. Steve Elturk, whose Islamic Organization of North America is opening the city’s first mosque, was confronted in January by a Warren man shouting racial epithets. The man, 37-year-old Terry E. Brown, was charged with disorderly conduct.
Warren Mayor Mark Steenbergh was outraged at the incident.
“This kind of vandalism sickens me,” he said.
Anyone who has information about the vandalism at St. Mary’s should contact Warren Police Detective John Barnes at 586-574-4776.