BY VINAYA SAKSENA

CENTRAL FALLS — A local church has been the target of what appear to be gruesome pranks in recent weeks, according to a Central Falls Police report.

Earlier this week, police reported sending an officer to St. Joseph’s Church on High Street, where a church member reported having found dead birds on the church’s doorstep on more than one occasion. It was unknown who might be responsible for these incidents, police said.
According to police, it was reported that a priest came to the church Tuesday evening and saw “a brown paper bag on the doorstep,” which he brought into the church kitchen. The witness reported opening the bag and finding “a deceased pigeon and several pieces of coconut” in the bag, the police report said.
The witness who spoke to the police reportedly indicated finding dead pigeons in bags on the doorstep on two previous occasions. On one occasion, police said, the witness allegedly found a pigeon’s body in a bag, along with “the severed head of the pigeon with rose petals all over it.”
It was unclear whether or not the incidents were connected, but church officials seemed to believe that someone was trying to send them a sign, according to police. A church official could not be reached for comment in time for this article.
According to police, the witness they spoke with noted that these incidents took place shortly after a woman was allegedly assaulted outside of the church the previous month.
Central Falls Police Lt. Rene Ogni said that two purse-snatching incidents had taken place in the vicinity, approximately two or three months ago.
No arrests had been made in any of the aforementioned incidents, according to Ogni. He said police did not believe there was a link between the pigeon killings and any other incidents in the city, including the purse-snatchings.