A hate crime investigation is underway after the front window of the Chicago Loop Synagogue was smashed by a vandal who affixed swastikas to its front entrance early Saturday.
Officers responded at 12:20 a.m. to a call of “criminal damage in progress” at the temple at 16 S. Clark St., according to Chicago Police.
A male got out of a dark-colored SUV, possibly a Toyota Highlander, and placed several swastika stickers on the front doors, police said. Then he took a metal object and smashed the front glass windows.
The suspect was described as a white male wearing dark clothing and a dark face mask, police said.
No one was in custody as Area Central detectives investigated the vandalism as a hate crime.
The American Jewish Committee’s Chicago office condemned the attack, noting the incident comes amidst a rise in incidents of anti-Semitism across the country.
“The Chicago Jewish community will not be intimidated by anti-Semitic attacks on a house of worship,” AJC Chicago Director Amy Stoken said.
“The right of all religious groups to practice their faith without fear is a fundamental American value. Chicagoans must speak together clearly that the hatred behind this destructive behavior will never be accepted.”
