RPD Press Announcement: Graffiti at the Jewish Community Center

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: Friday, March 27, 2009 Contact: Lieutenant Tim Bacon Phone: (951) 353-7900 File #P09-046039 Graffiti at the Jewish Community Center Riverside, CA – On Thursday, March 26, 2009, during the late evening hours, the Riverside Police Department received a call about vandalism at the Chabad Jewish Community Center on Arlington Avenue. The suspect(s) painted on the windows and walls anti-Jewish slogans along with swastikas and racial slurs. A lone car in the parking lot was also spray painted with similar graffiti. During their investigation, officers found additional graffiti in a pedestrian alley approximately one block from the community center. The graffiti at this location appeared to be of the same origin as the original incident. Officers collected physical evidence, took photographs of the graffiti and spoke with residents in the neighborhood. One person reported seeing two people dressed in dark clothing leaving the area at the time of the vandalism. Police Detectives were called to assist in the investigation and are currently handling incident as a hate crime. Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to call the Riverside Police Department Centralized Investigations Division at 951-353-7100.

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