SALEM, Ore. — A church in Salem is again working to recover from a string of burglaries and vandalism.
Alex Yermachenkov, pastor at The Way Church, said in the last six months, people have broken seven windows. Five of those were within the last two weeks of February.
The worst incident, Yermachenkov said, was on Valentine's Day. Someone broke through a window, entered the church, intentionally pushed over and destroyed expensive monitors and poured liquid over the electronic soundboard.
"We have to replace everything," Yermachenkov said. "On top of that, this person tried to set the place on fire."
Salem Police documented several incidents:
- 2/11/22 - Broken window. No arrests.
- 2/14/22 - Broken window, video equipment damaged inside, and someone tried to set a fire inside. No arrests.
- 2/20/22 - Church burglary. Police arrested one person for probation violation, criminal mischief and burglary.
- 2/27/22 – Broken window. No arrests.
"We're thinking of just boarding [the windows] all up for now, because we're tired of changing windows, and they keep coming back," Yermachenkov said.
The crimes and destruction come at a tough time for Yermachenkov and his congregation. Yermachenkov is both Russian and Ukrainian. His congregation is a mix of people of Russian, Ukranian and US descent, all watching war unfold in Europe.
"We just cried for a while," Yermachenkov said of the situation.
Yermachenkov explained the crimes targeting his church were already happening before the conflict overseas, so he does not believe they are connected. However, the damage makes a difficult and stressful time even harder.
"We're fighting the good fight," Yermachenkov said. "We're here to make this place a better place, but there will always be an opposition."