Vandals shatter CSU chapel's stained-glass window

Cassa Niedringhaus, cniedringhaus@coloradoan.com

Vandals shattered a stained glass panel and rummaged through storage areas in a Colorado State University chapel over the weekend.

Vandals shattered a two-by-three-foot stained glass panel and rummaged through storage areas in CSU's Danforth Chapel over the weekend.

The 2-x-3-foot panel, which is likely worth thousands of dollars, was installed in a floor-to-ceiling window when the Danforth Chapel was built in 1954. It was crafted from mouth-blown glass and included pieces imported from Europe. 

The suspects broke through the panel to gain access to the chapel between 5 p.m. Saturday and 5:30 a.m. Sunday. Once inside, they rummaged through cabinets and storage areas. 

Vandals broke a panel in this floor-to-ceiling window in CSU's Danforth Chapel over the weekend.

The university's facilities staff members are working with the original window manufacturer in West Virginia to estimate cost of the broken panel and whether or not it can be replaced.

NOCOASK:  How does Fort Collins respond to a train derailment?

Called "The Genesis," the window depicted universal religious symbols and concepts, including air, earth, fire and water. 

Danforth Chapel is nondenominational and open to the public on weekdays, barring special events. It sits just north of the Oval and is also the site of the university's memory garden, which was constructed in 2014. 

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact CSU police at 970-491-6425.

Thief hits historic, haunted Northern Colorado cemetery