‘Is nothing sacred?!’ Bronze Jesus is sawed off at the ankles, carted away Metal theft has been an intractable problem in Southern California for years, with bandits pulling copper wire from streetlights — plunging neighborhoods into darkness — and from rail lines, pilfering pipes from construction sites and vacant buildings, and sawing catalytic converters off cars for scrap. The 6th Street Bridge in Los Angeles epitomizes the problem with rampant metal theft. Famously hailed as a “ribbon of light,” the bridge has been dark for more than a year after thieves ripped off more than seven miles of copper wire that helped illuminate its arches. The metal likely netted the thieves upward of $11,000, but officials say it will cost taxpayers millions to restore the lights. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-09-22/jesus-statue-is-latest-in-string-of-socal-bronze-thefts