Just before seven o’clock on Saturday morning, the police received a report of vandalism inside Namso’s church. – Someone has been there during the night and emptied powder devices. We are talking about major destruction, says operations manager Bjørnar Gaasvik. A foam device must also have been used. The police are on the scene and securing clues. They don’t have any suspects yet. The church is being renovated this summer and is therefore closed to the public. According to the police, the person or persons who have been inside the church most likely broke in via scaffolding. The doors to the church were locked, and there are no signs that anyone has broken in, church guardian Magne Bergslid tells news. These powder devices have been emptied in the church during the night. Photo: Kjetil Langeng – As lightning from a clear sky It is not known who discovered the vandalism, and Bergslid says that it was the police at the scene who called him. – I was very surprised. There was nothing to indicate that something like that would be possible to happen. It came like lightning out of the blue, he says. – It is completely incomprehensible that someone would be interested in doing something like that. Bergslid is in church when news talks to him over the phone. He says that there is powder from the powder machines in large parts of the church. – But thanks to the fact that the church is undergoing total renovation, a number of things have been cleared away and covered up, which fortunately makes the damage smaller than it could have been, he says. – We have also been lucky that it has been locked between zones in the church, which means that the person in question has not been able to get around everywhere. The church guardian further informs that a unit with special expertise in first aid for powder apparatus emptying is in place to assist in getting the powder removed as quickly as possible. Because the longer the powder is left, the worse it will be to remove it, and the greater the damage. On Monday, a company will come for an inspection for later cleaning and washing, the church guardian informs. Senior police officer Torgeir Bakkland shows a lot of powder from the powder apparatus which is on the floor of the first floor of the church. Photo: Kjetil Langeng Can’t rule out more damage Bergslid is currently unsure what the vandalism will mean for the renovation work, and he can’t rule out that there are other forms of damage. – It could be that they have, for example, taken things with them that we haven’t seen yet, but it doesn’t look like that was the main motivation for this, says the church guardian. – For one reason or another, they wanted to empty powder devices in here. Operations manager in the police, Bjørnar Gaasvik, says that the matter is being treated very seriously. – This is certainly something we want to get to the bottom of. So if anyone has seen something or has tips, we are very interested in it, says operations manager Gaasvik. Changed Saturday 30.07 at 11.10: In an earlier version of this case, it was stated that it was the provost in Namdalen, Frode Askekjær, who discovered the vandalism when he was visiting the church office. This is not true. Askekjær has denied to news that it was him, and it is not known who discovered the destruction and reported it to the police.
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Vandalism in Namso’s church – powder and foam devices emptied inside the church – news Trøndelag
