Man Caught Breaking-In, Trashing Missoula Church

A man was caught in the act of ransacking a Missoula Church this morning, April 24.

"Two deputies responded to a burglary alarm at about 1:45 this morning at the 1st Lutheran church on South Avenue, right across the street from Community Medical Center," said Missoula County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Paige Pavalone. "When they arrived on scene, they did a perimeter check and saw there was a broken window with glass all over the ground. When they entered the building and immediately saw a 59 year-old man sitting on a bench, holding a single flower."

It is unclear why the man was holding a flower, or why he came into the church in the first place. After placing handcuffs on the intruder, the deputies found that there was more damage than just the window.

"They later found that he had just gone in and ransacked the place: threw magazines on the ground, flipped over rugs," Pavalone said. "It's still unclear what the motivation was for breaking into the building."

Because he was caught in the act, the man was taken to jail. Investigations into the reasons behind the break-in are underway.