Several cars were broken into, and another was stolen, while people were attending church Sunday afternoon at Baltimore’s Mount Sinai Baptist Church.

Officers were called to the church in the 900 block of East Preston Street in East Baltimore shortly after noon.

“I think it just speaks to the culture of our day as it relates to some of the vandalism that we’re experiencing in Baltimore City,” said the Rev. Ray Cotton, who has been pastor at Mount Sinai for three decades.

Cotton said six or seven cars were broken into while church members were in service.

“Unfortunately, today during our Holy Communion service, in our parking lot, several cars were broken into, and one car was stolen, leaving several members saddened and uneasy that this type of crime could happen in broad daylight at church,” Mount Sinai Baptist said in a statement.

The church has security guards, but they were inside at the time of the incident.

Cotton told WJZ the church’s cameras are motion activated and the thefts happened too far away from them, so the cameras didn’t capture anything.

While police investigate, Cotton is hoping the thieves understand the severity of what they’ve done.

“You’re not going to get ahead ... taking somebody else’s property or causing damage to it,” Cotton said. “It’s just a matter of time before the problem will catch up with them.”

Cotton said the church will be increasing security.