WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) — A roughly 300-pound (136-kilogram) bronze church bell and a pile of scrap metal have been reported stolen from the site of a Russian Orthodox Church slated for demolition in Connecticut.
Project manager Albert Well tells the Republican-American that scrap metal and the lightest of three bronze bells that once hung in Nativity of the Holy Virgin Mary Russian Orthodox Church in Waterbury were stolen in late June.
Well says the bell was stolen from a padlocked shipping container.
The bells, stained glass windows and other items were removed for the demolition and could be used in other churches.
Well estimates the bell is worth thousands as an artifact. Police estimate the bronze and the stolen scrap metal is worth $500.
Officials are investigating.
The church was to be demolished this week.
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