Saint John the Baptish Catholic Church / Website
CV NEWS FEED // A man who police said broke into a parish rectory and attempted to injure the pastor with a mallet has been arrested.
The Catholic Spirit reported that the complaint said John Hiegel, 30, broke into the rectory of St. John the Baptist in Jordan, Minnesota, around 5:30 a.m. April 8. Father Neil Bakker awoke to somebody shouting his name and found Hiegel standing in priest vestments with a mallet in the sitting room next to his bedroom.
A brief physical struggle followed, part of which Fr. Bakker caught on camera. The priest called 911 after Hiegel escaped. and told the police that he recognized Hiegel from the previous week when the man had offered to do some work around the church, which Fr. Bakker had declined. Fr. Bakker was not seriously injured,
Police found a mallet on the rectory’s bathroom floor, shattered glass next to the front door, a broken doorframe leading to the bedroom, and a hammer on the garage floor.
Police found Hiegel near the church later that morning and took him into custody. When they released a search warrant for his DNA sample, Hiegel told them it was unnecessary because he purposely left his own blood at the crime scene.
Hiegel was charged with two counts of first-degree burglary (one count with a dangerous weapon), second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, and fourth-degree intentional damage to property.
Fr. Bakker wrote a note to his parishioners after the incident, thanking the police for their prompt response and the parishioners for their prayers and support.
“In addition to praying for me, please pray for the intruder and for all those who have been involved in violent incidents,” he said. “They truly need our prayers.”
Archbishop Bernard Hebda of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis also issued a statement after the break-in.
“We need to give thanks to our gracious God that the incident ended as peacefully as it did,” he wrote. “I continue to be inspired by the pastoral way in which Father Bakker was able to de-escalate a frightening situation.”
The archbishop invited the faithful to pray for Fr. Bakker, victims of violence, and the suspect.
