SAN DIEGO -- Four Steele Canyon High School students have been accused of vandalizing three churches on the morning of Easter. Prosecutors said the three boys and one girl could face hate crimes charges, 10News reported.

Three churches in Alpine were vandalized with anti-God and Satanic messages on Easter Sunday. Investigators said the four teenagers, all 16 or 17 years old, who turned themselves in did not think they would get in trouble because they used ketchup and other non-permanent materials. They were wrong.

On one of the holiest days for Christians, parishioners arrived for services to find sidewalks, walls and landscaping marked with ketchup and masking tape that spelled out Satanic messages, numbers and symbols as well as hateful statements against believers in God.

The vandals wrote messages such as "Satan Lives Here," "You're a Dying Breed," and "Die, Die Yuppie Scum." They also drew pentagrams, the number 666 and scribbled vulgarities ridiculing people who believe in God.

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Teens Vandalize Churches

In addition, the reverend of Queen of Angels said the group had "taken a stuffed animal toy that was a cat and cut it open and then had filled it with ketchup and put a knife in it."

Detective Dan Pearce said the vandalism was enough to scare parishioners, qualifying it as a hate crime.

Along with the Queen of Angels Church, the vandals also hit the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the Jehovah's Witness Alpine Congregation.

The suspects took pictures of the vandalism, and tried to develop them at an El Cajon photo lab. The processing clerk called police after he developed pictures showing the vandalism.

Detectives sent pictures of the suspected vandals via e-mail to high school resource officers throughout East County last week. The officer at Steele Canyon recognized them.

On Friday, after The Alpine Sun published a story reporting the vandalism and the students' pending arrest, the suspected vandals turned themselves in.

Investigators do not believe the students specifically targeted the three churches for any reason other than the fact they did not have as many lights or located near a busy street.

The case will be passed on to the district attorney's hate crime unit Wednesday to determine what exact charges will be filed.

The four students are not members of the churches.