By Shavonne Walker

shavonne.walker@salisburypost.com

KANNAPOLIS — Vandals caused hundreds of dollars worth of damage to a Kannapolis church, including leaving feces on the pastor’s chair.

Pastor Tim Whittingon went to Unity United Methodist about 8 a.m. Tuesday and noticed that grape juice had been poured over his office desk and that someone had defecated on his chair, according to the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office.

Whittingon checked other rooms in the church and discovered a WiFi box had been removed from the ceiling, security lights had been removed from a hallway and a camera was removed from the sanctuary.

Whittingon saw a yellow powdery substance that was later determined to be from a fire extinguisher. Someone had sprayed the floor and places throughout the church.

The pastor also said explicit language was written on a board inside a classroom.

Whittingon said two cameras had been left in the sanctuary.

The church, located at 8605 Unity Church Road, was last secured about midnight Monday. He said someone may have gotten in through an unsecured side door, a report said.

“It’s hard to say what motivates someone to do something like that. I think that’s pretty low-down for someone to do to a place of worship,” said sheriff’s Capt. John Sifford.

He said it’s early in the investigation but detectives have some evidence and suspects.

A notice posted on the church’s Facebook page says there will be no Sunday school and only one worship service because the worship building was being shut down. It’s not clear if the altered schedule is related to the vandalism.

No arrest has been made in the case yet.

The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office asks anyone with information to call 704-216-8700 or Salisbury-Rowan Crime Stoppers at 866-639-5245.