4 Long Island churches vandalized with disturbing satanic graffiti

NORTH AMITYVILLE, N.Y. -- (WPIX) -- Suffolk County police are investigating four instances of satanic graffiti sprayed at churches on Long Island over the weekend, police said.

Detectives from the hate crime division say the hateful images appeared at Shaw Temple A.M.E. Zion Church on Albany Avenue, Gospel Church on Warren Street and Amityville Full Gospel Tabernacle on Brefni Street between 9:30 p.m. Friday and 10:55 a.m. Saturday. A fourth satanic graffiti was spray painted at Prayer Tabernacle Church of God in Christ on Great Neck Road sometime on Saturday, officials said Sunday.

PIX11 exclusively obtained images showing satanic graffiti from a concerned parishioner. One of the pictures displays a satanic symbol in front of a church and another shows the words "Hail Satan" sprayed over a brick wall.

"It's very upsetting that someone would desecrate a house of God," said Deacon Alton Lamont.

Lamont has worked at Amityville Full Gospel Tabernacle for about four years. He hopes that the person behind the spray paint will come to the church to pray instead of coming to the church to desecrate it.

Anyone with information is asked to call Hate Crimes Sections at 631-852-6323 or call anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 800-220-TIPS.