Thieves suspected of targeting two Buddhist temples in Middle Tennessee
BERRY HILL, Tenn. (WKRN) — A group of suspected thieves are accused of breaking into at least two Middle Tennessee Buddhist temples over the weekend.
Members of the Wat Amphawan of America temple along Barfield Crescent Road in Murfreesboro previously told News 2 about a group of people entering the monk living quarters shortly before 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 20.
However, News 2 has since discovered that authorities believe the same group struck a temple in another county the same day.
Around 3 p.m. Saturday, the Berry Hill Police Department said a group of Romanian Nationals targeted the Padmasambhava Buddhist Center on East Iris Drive, breaking in and stealing $500 from the collection box.
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According to detectives, three men and one woman arrived at the temple in a red minivan without a license plate.
“This is just about as low as you can get as far as criminals go, stealing from churches,” Sgt. Tony Russo said.
Russo told News 2 the suspects are most likely members of a Romanian burglary ring known to target Buddhist temples around the country.
“I sent a BOLO out to all the surrounding agencies, and one of them got back to us saying that they’re working with the Secret Service in Texas, they had locked up four individuals for doing the same thing in Texas, and all their description matches up with these guys,” Russo explained.
According to Russo, the group disabled the cameras amid the burglary, but one still recorded the suspects talking in a foreign dialect. Officers fluent in Arabic and Spanish confirmed the thieves were not speaking either language.
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The sergeant said the same individuals that hit the Berry Hill temple struck hours earlier at a Buddhist temple in Murfreesboro.
A group of at six people reportedly entered the temple, ransacked at least one room, frightened a foreign exchange student who was staying in the facility, and left in a four-door SUV with a possibly tinted license plate.
“Oh my god, our heart is broken,” said Pakaysy Vongratsamy, a member of Wat Amphawan of America.
However, it is unclear if anything was stolen from the Murfreesboro temple.
“As a Buddhist person, we’re open to anybody, so we are gullible,” Vongratsamy said.
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Like law enforcement officers, temple members in Middle Tennessee are well aware they are a target for criminals roaming the U.S.
“We didn’t think like it’s going to happen to us. We heard that all the temples in Tennessee or around the country already got broke in, and then why would they go to all the temples to do this, so we are like, ‘Okay, maybe they’re not coming here,’ so yeah, we’re still perplexed in all [that’s] going on,” Vongratsamy told News 2.
According to Berry Hill authorities, there’s a good chance the Secret Service is interested in this case.
If you have information about Saturday’s incidents at the Middle Tennessee Buddhist temples or about individuals who might have been involved, you are asked to contact the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office at 615-898-7777 or the Berry Hill Police Department at 615-297-3242.
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