Caught On Video: Bottles Thrown At Buddha Statues In O.C.
SANTA ANA (CBSLA.com) — Authorities are asking for the public's help in identifying a woman suspected in the vandalism of a Buddhist temple in Orange County.
Santa Ana police said the unidentified woman was observed on surveillance video throwing bottles at Buddha statues in front of the Hong Tich Buddhist Temple on three occasions.
According to Dr. Alice Nguyen, the Buddhist nun who runs the temple, three marble Buddha statues have been damaged in the amount of $10,000, so far.
"She comes on foot. Often hides behind trees while traffic is going by. Does this in broad daylight. She goes up to the place of worship and starts throwing full bottles at the statues," Cpl. Anthony Bertagna of the Santa Ana Police Department said.
Since mid-December, the temple has experienced a total of eight incidents in which glass bottles were smashed, according to police.
Police believe the woman may be involved in the additional incidents.
"We don't know who this woman is. We're trying to get her identified, so we can get to the motive behind why she's doing this," Bertagna said.
They described her as an Asian woman between 25 and 40.
She is 5-foot-2 to 5-foot-5 and weighs 115 to 130 pounds. She has short, dark hair.
"As it stands now, she's looking at a felony because the damage is being done to a place of worship," Bertagna said.
Anyone with information as to the identity of the woman being sought is asked to contact Detective Gonzalez at (714) 245-8732 or Orange County Crime Stopper at 1-855-TIP-OCCS.
