Man high on narcotics breaks into Buddhist temple, crashes bus into pavilion

SPALDING COUNTY, Ga. — The Spalding County Sheriff’s Office said a man who was high on narcotics wrecked his car, broke into a Buddhist temple, stole a bus and crashed it into a pavilion.

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Multiple agencies responded as the bizarre incident unfolded at the Wat Phramahajanaka temple on Steele Road Tuesday afternoon.

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The sheriff’s office said that when they got to the scene, they found 61-year-old Ben Stallings inside the crashed temple bus, which he had driven down a path. He was suffering from a head injury and flown to a hospital in Macon.

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None of the monks who lived in the building were hurt.

The sheriff’s office said the incident was not an attack on a religious facility and that there was no indication of any bias. No shots were fired by anyone involved, despite posts circulating on social media.

Stallings’ condition has not been released and it’s unclear what charges he is facing.

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