Teens busted for stealing Bible & Christian t-shirts

WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - "Thou shalt not steal."

It's one of the Ten Commandments that every Christian knows. But the religious memorabilia that hangs on the walls at West Springfield's Morningstar Christian Bookstore wasn't enough to shame a thief out of breaking in, robbing and vandalizing the place last Thursday.

Clerk Dean Howard showed 22News the damage done. "He shattered a window, did some damage upstairs, defecated on the floor- that was kind of random."

After emptying the cash register and flicking a cigarette butt on the floor, the thief took off.

Just days later on Tuesday,  the Christian store was targeted again- this time by four young teens who took off on bicycles after stealing merchandise and ransacking the store.

Howard chased after them for three blocks and was able to grab one of their bikes. The pack of teens turned on him, threatening to damage his car unless he gave the bike back. But Howard stood his ground, even snapping a picture of the teens with his cellphone.

West Springfield Police showed up and caught the teens red-handed with their loot: five religious t-shirts and a Holy Bible.

The two incidents have some local Christians wondering if anything's sacred anymore.

"Stealing a Bible?!" reacted Chicopee resident Joyce Crabtree. "I hope they read it and get something out of it. I'm hoping that God will use it to his advantage. That's the only thing I can think of that would be good out of this situation."

Howard told 22News while he's disappointed in the teens' behaviors, he's more sad than angry.

"It's unfortunate," he said, "because if they had come in and they were that hard off, I would have just given them the Bibles. If they had asked, if they desperately wanted something, I would have bought them each a t-shirt and given them a Bible."

The teens' names will not be released because they're all around 14 years old. But if you have any information about the break-in, you're asked to contact West Springfield Police.