Copper gutters stolen from Watertown church

WATERTOWN, Mass. (WHDH) -- Rain at a Watertown church now drips from the downspouts instead of running through the gutters after thieves allegedly stole them for the copper.

John Clark, a building maintenance worker at Saint Patrick’s Church in Watertown, discovered the missing gutters during his rounds on Thursday morning.

“I happened to notice this morning a broken downspout, so I walked around and discovered seven, eight, nine missing on one building, and three or four on the church,” said Clark.

In total, 12 were taken.

“My first reaction was it was pouring buckets last night, why would anybody do it in the middle of the night? Because that’s when people do it, in the middle of the night -- they basically snatch and run. Grab the copper, it’s valuable,” said Father Bob Connors of St. Patrick’s Parish.

Thieves hit the church and the parish center. Fortunately, it didn’t damage the buildings and nothing else was stolen.

Watertown police are investigating, but say the metal is usually sold very quickly.

“I was disappointed that somebody would stoop that low, vandalize a church -- but the way the economy is, people are destitute,” said Clark.

The pastor said they will replace the gutters, but this time they won’t use copper.

Anyone with any information on the thefts is urged to call police.