SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - A Lutheran church in Allied Gardens is facing continued vandalism targeting their Pride banner, with the latest incident occurring just nine hours after a repaired banner was installed ahead of Pride month.
"A broken bit is all that is left," said Jennifer Gittings, youth leader at Ascension Lutheran Church.
For Gittings, discovering the nearly bare wall two Sundays ago was heart-wrenching.
"It's like, here we go again," Gittings said.
I first spoke with the church's pastor, Rick Fry, in early May after their banner reading "Welcome, Inclusion and Celebration" was targeted.
"They drove over it, tire tracks and this hole," Pastor Fry said in that interview.
The banner had been torn down, run over, and tossed outside a nearby school. Surveillance video showed a masked lookout nearby while two others tore down the framed banner. It was the second time in three months vandals had been caught on video targeting the banner.
"Everybody's heart sank. A lot of emotion and tears. It was an emotional Sunday. It felt like an attack on who we are as a community," Pastor Fry said.
After our story aired, donations poured into a GoFundMe campaign set up to replace the banner. More than $1,000 was raised.
"We are so grateful to the community at large. It makes us feel we aren't alone. The tide of love is stronger than the tide of hate," Gittings said.
The church spent a few hundred dollars for a temporary fix, repairing the banner and putting it up ahead of Pride month in late May. About nine hours after it went up, past midnight, surveillance video captured three people with their faces hidden climbing the wall and ripping down the banner. That banner was later found inside a nearby dumpster.
"It's heartbreaking to know that kind of fear or vitriol exists right on our doorstep," Gittings said.
The framing was damaged, but the banner is mostly intact. Still, the church won't be immediately putting it back up.
Gittings says the church is hoping to first have a community forum to talk about LGBTQ issues. As for the banner, it might be moved to a higher location. Church leaders are also considering a mural or flag. Gittings says the church will not be backing down.
When asked if it's understandable to want to give up, Gittings responded, "Yes, but the reason why it is taken down is why we have to keep going."
"We're not going to let fear win. We will come back with a message of love and acceptance," Gittings said.
A police report was filed after each incident. ABC 10News reached out to San Diego Police to see if all the incidents have been linked and are waiting to hear back.
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