Fake images falsely portray church vandal as a dark-skinned man
Friday 13th November 2026 on 14:30 in
Lithuania
Altered images circulating online falsely portray the person who vandalised a cross at the Shrine of Divine Mercy church in Vilnius as a dark-skinned man, LRT reported. The images are not authentic.
Police say that between 9 p.m. on November 11 and 12:30 a.m. on November 12, a person smashed a gold-coloured sculpture of Jesus that hung on a wooden cross in the church’s inner courtyard on Dominikonų Street. The church community shared security camera footage, which was later posted by the church’s vice-rector, Elijas Anatolijus Markauskas.
A separate video circulating on social media shows one man posing with the sculpture after it was removed from the cross while another takes a picture. The men appear to flee after the sculpture breaks. They speak English.
Social media posts claimed the perpetrator was Muslim. Images were also altered with artificial intelligence to make the person’s facial features darker and more pronounced. The suspect was still being sought on Friday, and police have opened a pre-trial investigation into a public order offence. “The suspect’s identity is being established,” the Vilnius County Police Headquarters said.
LRT noted that false claims about foreigners in Lithuania, particularly Muslims, and crimes they allegedly commit have appeared on social media in recent months. In October, a false claim circulated that Lithuania was easing visa procedures for Pakistani citizens. Law enforcement data do not show that foreigners in Lithuania are more likely to commit crimes than local residents.
The church community is asking anyone with significant information to contact police at +370 700 60 000 or through www.epolicija.lt. It particularly urged residents of the Old Town and nearby districts, as well as accommodation staff, to come forward. Anyone who recognises the men in the images can also contact senior investigator Daiva Žilinskytė at the Vilnius City Third Police Commissariat on +370 646 32147 or [email protected], or call 112.