The purple and white marquee at Community of Faith Church was spray painted earlier this week reading, “My road to hell is paved with good intentions.”
Surveying the spray paint can tops left at the crime scene, the Tallahassee Police Department said a neighboring business reported the crime.
Officers said the crime could have been committed Monday night or early Tuesday morning.
Community of Faith, located at 1533 South Monroe Street, is home to several Florida A&M University students and many were unaware of the crime.
Britney Smith, a graduating MBA student and Community Of Faith member, said she was shocked when she found out the news.
“I didn’t think someone would want to disrespect church property,” said Smith, 24, a Selma, Ala. native.
Frequent visitors and members of the community said the offense did not affect their decision to continue attending the church.
Andre Darby, 20, a junior theatre student from Jacksonville, said he supports freedom of speech but believes the offender(s) should have acted differently.
“They definitely should not have spray painted the church but instead voiced their opinions,” Darby said.
Darby said people in the community who see the vandalism will have their reservations about the church but it may not be a factor on their decision to attend.
A bystander, who requested to remain anonymous, said the defacement was not hard to miss because of the bright pink and purple colors.
“I have never seen church vandalism in this city and I hope that it doesn’t continue,” the Tallahassee native said.
Senior Pastor Remille M. Faulkner was unavailable for comment. The police department said there is an ongoing investigation. However no suspects have been arrested.