By
The Associated Press
TUCSON - Investigators want to talk to the person who reported a third act of vandalism at the historic Mission San Xavier del Bac complex on the Tohono O'odham reservation.
The male, whose age and identity aren't known, walked into a fire station to report a fire Sunday at the nearby mission complex.
Tohono O'odham Police Chief Larry Seligman said firefighters found a porcelain statue covered in motor oil and smoldering inside the main mission entrance.
The fire was the third act of vandalism in the mortuary chapel area of the mission complex in a week.
On Feb. 13, a mission custodian found that graffiti had been spray-painted on the outer mission walls and inside the chapel and that 35 statues had been smashed.
Three more religious statues were found broken or damaged Sunday.
The Tohono O'odham tribe's Desert Diamond Casino offered $10,000 for information leading to an arrest and indictment. The casino also offered to help pay for more security.
Once an arrest or arrests have been made and the mortuary chapel is renovated, Bishop Manuel D. Moreno will rededicate and bless Our Lady of Sorrows Chapel, said Fred Allison, spokesman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson.
"Healing cannot take place until the threat caused by a person or persons is stopped. There has to be healing for the Tohono O'odham, Hispanic and Anglo communities. This mission affects the larger Tucson community," said Allison. "It is an expression of multicultural faiths."
