UPDATES WITH AJC COMMENT
A hate crime investigation is underway after the front window of the Chicago Loop Synagogue was smashed by one or more vandals 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 window had been broken and several “derogatory stickers” were placed on the front door, police said. Evidence technicians could be seen removing two swastikas from the glass.
The American Jewish Committee, a national Jewish advocacy group, denounced the incident in a statement issued Saturday.
“The Chicago Jewish community will not be intimidated by anti-Semitic attacks on a house of worship,” AJC Chicago Director Amy Stoken said in the statement. “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.”
No one was in custody Saturday as Area Central detectives investigated the vandalism as a hate crime.
