American tourist armed with hammer arrested in Jerusalem for tearing down statue of Jesus
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American tourist ‘armed with a hammer’ is arrested in Jerusalem for smashing up a statue of Jesus in a church on the historic Via Dolorosa and shouting: ‘You can’t have idols, this is the holy city’. Israeli police arrested an American tourist today suspected of vandalizing a Jesus statue in a church in the Old City of Jerusalem. The suspect, who is in his forties, damaged a statue of Jesus in the Church of the Condemnation on the historic Via Dolorosa, a processional route believed to be the path Jesus took to his crucifixion. He was detained after shouting at security guards: 'You can't have idols in Jerusalem. This is the holy city.' Police said the man's mental health was being assessed. The American Embassy declined to comment. The as-yet unnamed vandal reportedly entered the church and started hitting the statue with a hammer. The Church of the Condemnation is a Roman Catholic church …More