VERNON, Conn. (WTIC Radio) - Four men are under arrest, accused of trying to break into a vacant church in Vernon on Sunday.
Police say the four men, three from New York and one from New Jersey, saw a social media post about an "abandoned church" and traveled to Vernon on Sunday with plans to photograph it.
When the suspects found that the Sacred Heart Church on Hartford Turnpike was boarded up, they bought a hammer at a local store and attempted to break in, according to police.
A monitoring system installed by the Diocese of Norwich, which owns the building, alerted police to the would-be intruders.
Anson Chin, 20, of Buffalo, NY; Kenado Mercado, 19, of Brooklyn, NY; Shreyansh Prithyani, 18, of Eddison, NJ; and Christopher Yu, 24 of Flushing, NY all face trespassing charges.