Suspect seen of video hurling rocks into Antioch church

ANTIOCH, Calif. - Dozens of church windows and doors were busted out at an East Bay church early Monday morning and it was all caught on surveillance video.

The pastor does not think his church was targeted but says the destruction comes during a special time: Holy Week.

Police are investigating the vandalism that happened around 4 a.m. at Cornerstone Christian Center in Antioch, which serves as both a church for 200 people and a school with 400 students.

"I drove in immediately thinking we had a couple of broken windows. Well turns out the storefront, really of the high school and church building, were all busted out," said senior pastor Steve Miner.

The crime was captured on surveillance video which shows the suspect walk up and immediately start throwing rocks into the glass.

"Looks like a single person came in. We have river rock as decoration all around the campus and he just picked up rocks and went to town," said Miner.

Video shows the suspect gather up more rocks from the parking lot and then one after another, launch them into the glass doors and windows for several minutes.
 
"I don't think the guy was targeting us. It just seemed like an individual who was out of his mind a little bit," Miner said. "Everybody pulled together and we came together. We got this swept up before most the kids got to school."

The senior pastor said about 36 windows and doors were damaged at the church, high school, and gym buildings.

By about noon Monday, some of the doors had already been boarded up.

"It's unfortunate," Miner said. "We just had Palm Sunday. We've got Easter coming up this Sunday."

He says the pre-planned outdoor Easter service will go on.

The church is working with its insurance company with no estimate yet how much it will cost to replace the damaged glass.