Copper Thieves Strike Long Island Church; Cause $15K in Damages

In Suffolk County, New York, Newsday reports:

• A Dix Hills church once said to be "left in shambles" after it was ransacked twice by thieves this month, who stripped walls of plumbing for scrap metal, is slowly being rebuilt, just in time for Easter, church officials said. The Half Hollow Community Church was vandalized on March 5 by several thieves who broke into the church offices and stole copper piping out of the walls. The next night, the vandals struck again, removing plumbing from the recreation room and a bronze cross.

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• Legislator Jack Eddington said scrap metal theft is on the rise. Eddington says he regularly receives reports of thieves stripping homes of plumbing and other metals while they are on vacation or from houses that are in foreclosure.

For more, see Trashed Dix Hills church fixed for Easter.

For other stories on stolen copper, see Copper Thefts I and Copper Thefts II. copper metal theft yak