$10K in collection money stolen from Palo Alto church
PALO ALTO, California (KTVU) - Tonight, Palo Alto Police need help finding whoever snatched the collection offerings from a Church in Palo Alto. Police estimate up to $10,000 in donations was stolen. The theft happened at the Cornerstone Community Church right after last Sunday's service.
The Cornerstone Community Church is a Korean-American Church, open to anybody. The pastor said they opened their doors to a new face who took advantage of their warm welcome.
"It all happened so quickly and so suddenly so we think it was preplanned, well thought out, premeditated," said Pastor Joseph Park of the Cornerstone Community Church.
Pastor Park said around 12:45 p.m., he had wrapped up his sermon about how "God is good" to a packed church of 100 parishioners. He said after the service that newcomer went to the altar. They thought he was making an offering yet instead he took the collection money and ran off.
"I never had anything like this before where someone was bold enough to actually take from the collection plate," said Pastor Park. "I'm a little bit startled, surprised at how this community is changing a little bit."
"All thefts are upsetting but to go to a place of worship and take the whole community's money is pretty upsetting," said Agent Marco Estrada of Palo Alto Police.
The money would have gone toward church maintenance, missionaries and feeding the homeless. Neighbors are astounded saying it couldn't have happened to nicer people.
"For someone to brazenly walk in a place of church, a place of God and do that is really shocking and sad," said Vince Parrett of Palo Alto.
Pastor Park said he isn't angry about the loss of money but upset the theft spreads a message of fear.
"I think it will help us eventually strengthen our community to do more good in the future," said Pastor Park.
The pastor said if the man needed money, he wished he would have asked rather than taken it. He hopes this doesn't to any other neighboring churches. Police are looking for a person of interest, an Asian man in his late 30's, early 40's. Parishioners thought it was suspicious because he kept asking if it was the last service of the day.