Police in North Virginia are searching for a suspect after a Jewish community center was found covered in swastikas.
Nineteen swastikas were found spray-painted on the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia in Fairfax County early Saturday morning. A church down the street was also vandalized. This is the second time that the jewish Center was vandalized in 18 months.
Surveillance video showed a suspect vandalizing the center at 4:30 a.m., according to WTOP. The suspect appears to be wearing dark clothing with a gray mask obscuring their face.
The swastikas were discovered early Saturday, said David Yaffe, president of the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia’s board of directors.
BREAKING: Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia — my JCC where my kids went to preschool — spray painted with 19 swastikas overnight. Police say incident captured on security cameras but culprits still unknown. I’m sickened. pic.twitter.com/ttatPg51Hl
— Kevin Baron (@DefenseBaron) October 6, 2018
“We were shocked the first time that this happened. So, we’re not shocked that it has happened again, but we are profoundly disappointed,” Yaffe said. “We know this does not reflect the feelings of the local community or of the Northern Virginia community, but it is sad that this is taking place in 2018.”
Dear Friends of the J, pic.twitter.com/arLllOVBAb
— JCCNV (@JCCofNoVA) October 6, 2018
In April 2017, Dylan M. Mahone, a 20-year-old Annandale man, was arrested and charged with hate-related offenses after the community center, a nearby church and a community college were defaced with anti-Semitic graffiti and stickers.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) condemned the latest act of vandalism in a tweet.
“An insidious rise in hateful actions and anti-Semitism is happening in Virginia and across the country,” Kaine said. “We must meet it with fierce condemnation and an over-abundance of love and unity. We cannot allow hate to fester.”
This is the Fairfax Jewish Community Center this morning.
An insidious rise in hateful actions and anti-Semitism is happening in Virginia and across the country. We must meet it with fierce condemnation and an over-abundance of love and unity. We cannot allow hate to fester. pic.twitter.com/85bW2Hl0th
— Tim Kaine (@timkaine) October 6, 2018
Anyone with knowledge of the incident has been asked to contact the Mason District Police Station at 703-256-8035.
Removing hateful graffiti from the Jewish Community Center. pic.twitter.com/VXpaAlPQuQ
— Sharon Bulova (@SharonBulova) October 6, 2018
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