Sledgehammer attack damages Guadalupe mural at LA church

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A man has used a sledgehammer to smash the face of a Virgin of Guadalupe mural painted on tiles at a Los Angeles church. The man was recorded on security camera video during the attack at St. Elisabeth Catholic Church in the city’s Van Nuys neighborhood last week. A church website statement calls the vandalism that happened before dawn on April 21st one of the parish’s saddest moments. The Virgin of Guadelupe is considered central to Mexican identity and is widely worshipped as the patron saint of the Americas. The parish is seeking donations to restore the 35-year-old mural and install a plexiglass casing for protection.