CALUMET CITY | Police said Wednesday they are searching for five young people who assaulted the pastor of St. Andrew the Apostle Parish while he was walking his pet pit bull in the neighborhood around the south suburban church.
The incident occurred about 10 p.m. April 11 when the Rev. Jacek Dada was taking his dog for a walk. He was about one block away from the church, at 768 Lincoln Ave., when he was approached by three males and two females, police said.
All five began to taunt the dog verbally, Assistant Police Chief Dan Zorzi said.
When Dada asked them to stop, Zorzi said the youths shifted their attention to the priest. Zorzi said they shouted slurs at him and threw rocks at him as well.
The priest tried protecting his head with his left hand, and Zorzi said some of the rocks that hit Dada's hand caused fractures. Dada was treated for those injuries at Franciscan St. Margaret Health in Hammond and released the same day.
Dada initially declined to file a report with police about the incident. Zorzi said he told them he "didn't want to make a big deal" about it.
Dada eventually filed a report the next day after police "urged" him to do so. He was shown assorted mug shots of people who fit the description the priest gave them but he was unable to identify any of his attackers.
Dada, who has been pastor since 2010 at the oldest Catholic parish in what is now Calumet City, was unavailable Wednesday to comment on the incident.
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NOTE: This story was corrected to state that the incident occurred about 10 p.m.
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