A group of people forced their way into a Scientology church in New York on Saturday in the latest incident involving the viral “speedrunning” trend on social media, in which participants enter the church’s locations and race through hallways while attempting to evade security guards and see how far they can get before being escorted out.
Police are investigating after about 25 people gained entry to the Church of Scientology on West 36th Street in Manhattan while a seminar was underway, creating chaos by throwing objects and damaging property.
Police responded to a 911 call reporting a burglary in progress shortly after 4 p.m. Saturday, a New York City Police Department (NYPD) spokesperson confirmed in a statement to Global News.
Upon arrival, officers were informed that “a group of unidentified individuals forcibly entered the location through the side door and caused property damage,” the NYPD spokesperson said.
“During the incident, the 30-year-old male victim was kicked in the leg. The aided male sustained minor injuries but was not hospitalized,” the NYPD spokesperson added.
Police said the “unidentified individuals fled the incident location in an unknown direction” and there have been no arrests.
“On May 2, 2026, a group of individuals forced their way into the Church of Scientology New York, broke a locked door to gain entry, and rushed into the building. During the incident, property was damaged, objects were thrown, and a staff member was physically struck and injured, requiring medical attention. Another staff member was subjected to a racial slur,” Scientology spokesperson David Bloomberg told Global News in a statement.
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“The disruption endangered staff, parishioners and visitors, including individuals attending a seminar at the time. This was not a peaceful visit or lawful protest. It was a coordinated act involving forced entry, property damage, and physical aggression inside a house of worship,” Bloomberg added.
The Church of Scientology said it is “fully cooperating with the NYPD investigation and is supplying available evidence, including video.”
The investigation into Saturday’s incident remains ongoing.
The term “speedrunning” is part of video game culture and refers to playing through a game as quickly as possible during a “speedrun,” often to avoid glitches and to minimize completion time.
The latest speedrunning incident comes as Vancouver police released a warning after they attended the city’s Church of Scientology location on Saturday at about 3 p.m. after being made aware of a group of about 250 to 300 people gathering.
“We received information that some of them were trying to get in, so we deployed police officers that were at other protests in the area,” Sgt. Adam Donaldson with the Vancouver police said. “At the rear, there was some young people that managed to break a gate … but our members were able to prevent them from entering.”
Police used tactics to move the crowd away from the church, he said, but at about 5 p.m. the group returned.
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A 16-year-old boy was arrested for a breach of the peace. He was later released into the custody of his parents and no charges were laid. Donaldson said the teen was arrested for pushing a police officer.
Donaldson told Global News there are criminal aspects to the trend, and potential charges, depending on the actions people are taking to join in.
“If you are attempting to gain entry to a building, that is break and enter. If you are damaging property, that is mischief,” he said. “I saw the social media videos. I saw a lot of young people in the crowd masked up, and if you are making choices like that, you could potentially catch a criminal charge and it would affect the rest of your life.”
Last week, church officials accused the speedrunners of “hate crimes” after an incident took place at Scientology’s Hollywood properties.
“These incidents are not ‘speed running.’ They are organized trespasses into religious and public information facilities for social media attention,” Scientology spokesperson Bloomberg said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times.
“Over recent weeks, individuals have repeatedly forced their way into Church properties on Hollywood Boulevard, disrupted religious and public facilities, damaged Church property, and endangered staff, parishioners and visitors.”
A Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) spokesperson told the outlet that police have received five reports of trespassing incidents at Scientology’s Hollywood properties this year. Only two of those incidents were in relation to a “so-called speed running attempt,” according to the LAPD spokesperson.
The LAPD’s major crimes division said it was tasked with investigating Saturday’s incident as “an alleged hate crime.”
The Church of Scientology reportedly removed door handles from three of the church’s Hollywood Boulevard properties and security guards were spotted blocking entrances on Monday after multiple videos were filmed inside by “speedrunners” who forced their way past security.
— with files from Global News’ Sean Previl
Look, the idiots run into a mass shooting. Suggest the institutions us a MG42, has a high rate of fire. Lol
Speedrunning??? Is this another low English term?
Oh, you mean a mob doing vandalism. Suggest just shooting them down. I doubt they serve much use in society.