Weekend break-ins end with missing cash at 4 North Shore churches

NEWBURYPORT, Mass. — Police in Newburyport and Salisbury are investigating break-ins at four different churches that occurred over the weekend.

At each location, an undisclosed amount of cash was taken.

“The church is the one place that you feel safe and you feel like they're trying to help people,” Camille Gallo, a parishioner in Newburyport, said.

In Newburyport, First Religious Society Church on Pleasant Street, First Church of Christ Science on Inn Street, and Old South First Presbyterian Church on Federal Street were targeted. In Salisbury, the East Parish Meeting House on Lafayette Road was also broken into.

“I think it's awful. Anybody targeting anybody's property is obviously a crime and that's what we're here to solve,” Newburyport City Marshall Mark Murray said.

Police wouldn't say how much money is missing, but Father Tim Harrison of the Immaculate Conception Church said the loss hurts.

“Most of our money that comes in goes right back out the door again. So when you have a loss of a collection it's a loss for everybody,” he said.

Investigators are working to determine if the break-ins are connected, and police are warning other parishes to be careful.

Anyone with any information regarding these incidents is asked to contact the Newburyport Police Department at 978-462-4411.

Cox Media Group