Norwalk, CT
News
Norwalk City Meeting On Zoom Disrupted By Antisemitic, Racist Remarks, Officials Say Norwalk City Meeting On Zoom Disrupted By Antisemitic, Racist Remarks, Officials Say
Norwalk City Meeting On Zoom Disrupted By Antisemitic, Racist Remarks, Officials Say Alleged racist and antisemitic remarks made during a city meeting on Zoom are being investigated by police in Fairfield County and have caused an outcry by the mayor and other officials.  The incident took place in Norwalk on Tuesday, Jan. 16 during the public comment period of the meeting of the Ordinance Committee which was discussing a redistricting ordinance, the sale of city property, and blight prevention. "I unequivocally condemn these ignorant, racist individuals for their anti-semitic, racist statements made during last night's Ordinance Committee meeting," sai…

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by Kathy Reakes
Cambridge, MA
Police & Fire
Framingham Menorah Vandalized In ‘Potential Hate Crime,' Police Say Framingham Menorah Vandalized In ‘Potential Hate Crime,' Police Say
Framingham Menorah Vandalized In ‘Potential Hate Crime,' Police Say A menorah and sign supporting Israel were vandalized in Framingham, in what police are investigating as a potential hate crime.  The menorah at Centre Common on Edgell Road was found knocked down, and a sign voicing support for Israel was taken, police said Monday, Dec. 18. Surveillance video showed an unidentified person knocking the menorah over shortly before 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 16, one day after the end of Hanukkah. The menorah was found with scratches and two light bulbs were destroyed, authorities said. Framingham police ask anyone with information about the incident to co…

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by Khier Casino
Glen Burnie, MD
Police & Fire
Hate Crime Under Investigation At Maryland Cemetery Serving African American Community: PD Hate Crime Under Investigation At Maryland Cemetery Serving African American Community: PD
Hate Crime Under Investigation At Maryland Cemetery Serving African American Community: PD A cemetery that largely serves the African American community in Anne Arundel County was the subject of a possible hate crime over the weekend, police say. Investigators were called to the Saints Rest Cemetery on Ridge Road in Hanover on Saturday afternoon to investigate after a sign was set on fire, causing damage. The incident was reported around 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 16. According to the police, the cemetery is operated by the Saint Mark United Methodist Church and the person who reported the crime believes it was a targeted incident, "biased by hate because the cemetery predomina…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
News
Man Arrested For Anti-Semitic Attack Outside DC Synagogue: Police Man Arrested For Anti-Semitic Attack Outside DC Synagogue: Police
Man Arrested For Anti-Semitic Attack Outside DC Synagogue: Police The nation's capital turned into a place of hate on Sunday when an Ohio man reportedly shouted anti-Semitic rhetoric while spraying unknown substances at two people outside a Northwest DC synagogue, police say. Members of the Metropolitan Police Department were called to the Kesher Israel Congregation in the 2800 block of N Street NW on Sunday, Dec. 17 in Georgetown, where there were reports of a hateful crime in the area. Police say that Toledo native Brent Wood, 33, has been identified as the person who sprayed an unknown substance at the synagogue while spewing hate before he was ar…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
News
Man Who Was Hateful Toward Gay Couple, Nephew At DC Metro Station Convicted Of Assault: Feds Man Who Was Hateful Toward Gay Couple, Nephew At DC Metro Station Convicted Of Assault: Feds
Man Who Was Hateful Toward Gay Couple, Nephew At DC Metro Station Convicted Of Assault: Feds A man who targeted a homosexual family and assaulted a man in front of his young nephew inside a Metro station in DC is facing prison time, federal authorities announced. District resident Kevin Brown, 39, was found guilty this week of bias enhanced simple assault dating back to an incident in October 2020 at the Fort Totten Metro Station. According to prosecutors, on Oct. 6, 2020, Brown approached a victim who was with his husband and 12-year-old nephew at the station and without provocation asked the stranger if he was homosexual and began following the family for several minutes while ma…

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by Zak Failla
Glen Burnie, MD
Police & Fire
Man Admits To Hate Crime For Damaging 'BLM' Signs And Pride Flags At Maryland Church Man Admits To Hate Crime For Damaging 'BLM' Signs And Pride Flags At Maryland Church
Man Admits To Hate Crime For Damaging 'BLM' Signs And Pride Flags At Maryland Church A masked man who was caught on camera vandalizing a "Black Lives Matter" sign posted at an Anne Arundel Church will likely avoid time behind bars, authorities announced. Michael Billups, 29, pleaded guilty this week to defacing religious property in connection to a hate crime committed earlier this year when he destroyed Pride and other symbolic flags at the Ark and Dove Presbyterian Church in Odenton. The Anne Arundel State's Attorney's Office announced on Friday that Billups received a three-year suspended sentence with one year of supervised probation, during which he must complete …

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by Zak Failla
Albany, NY
News
Temple Shooting: 28-Year-Old Federally Charged After Gunshots At NY Synagogue Temple Shooting: 28-Year-Old Federally Charged After Gunshots At NY Synagogue
Temple Shooting: 28-Year-Old Federally Charged After Gunshots At NY Synagogue The man accused of opening fire at a New York synagogue on the first day of Hanukkah has been federally charged. Mufid Fawaz Alkhader, age 28, of Schenectady, appeared in Albany federal court on Friday, Dec. 8, where he was arraigned on one count of unlawfully possessing a firearm. According to the criminal complaint, Alkhader approached Albany’s Temple Israel, located on New Scotland Avenue, at around 2 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 7 armed with a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun. He then fired the weapon twice into the air, prosecutors allege. Earlier Report: New Update: Shooting At NY Syna…

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by Michael Mashburn
Albany, NY
News
New Update: Shooting At NY Synagogue On First Day Of Hanukkah Investigated As Hate Crime New Update: Shooting At NY Synagogue On First Day Of Hanukkah Investigated As Hate Crime
New Update: Shooting At NY Synagogue On First Day Of Hanukkah Investigated As Hate Crime This story has been updated. A shooting at a New York synagogue on the first day of Hanukkah is being investigated as a hate crime. The incident happened at Albany’s Temple Israel, located on New Scotland Avenue, on Thursday, Dec. 7. According to Albany Police, the 28-year-old man fired two shots from a shotgun in the building's parking lot. Nobody was injured. The shots were first heard by the temple's director of Early Childhood Center, who called 911. At least two dozen preschool-aged children were inside the building at the time, police said. The facility was immediately placed…

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by Michael Mashburn
Lakewood, NJ
Police & Fire
Pair Painted Swastikas, Started Fire In Various Locations Around Jersey Shore Town: Cops Pair Painted Swastikas, Started Fire In Various Locations Around Jersey Shore Town: Cops
Pair Painted Swastikas, Started Fire In Various Locations Around Jersey Shore Town: Cops Two Ocean County men were arrested for lighting a fire in a women's restroom and spray-painting swastikas around a public park, authorities said. Alexander Gerber, 19, and Connor Dougherty, 20, both of Lacey Township, are facing arson charges for the fire in the women's restroom in Gille Park on Nov. 21, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer and Lacey Township Chief of Police Christopher Kenny said. The pair are also being held responsible for spray-painting swastikas and other graffiti in various locations of the park, police said. Officers likewise discovered damage to th…

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by Cecilia Levine
Jersey City, NJ
Police & Fire
Bergen County Man's Assault On Palestinian-American Wasn't Bias Crime: Cops Bergen County Man's Assault On Palestinian-American Wasn't Bias Crime: Cops
Bergen County Man's Assault On Palestinian-American Wasn't Bias Crime: Cops A 31-year-old Bergen County man was arrested for assaulting a Palestinian American who said he was called a terrorist in Jersey City on Monday, Nov. 27, authorities said. At 1:30 a.m., Mo Hamzeh said on his Instagram that he was waiting on an Uber outside Grove Station when a man asked him where he was from. Hamzeh said Baltimore, and then when the man persisted, Hamzeh said he told him he was Palestinian. The man and several of his friends began following Hamzeh, yelling racial slurs before sucker punching him in the face, he said. Hamzeh said he fell and his twisted his knee, bumping the…

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by Sam Barron
Hartford, CT
Schools
College In CT Shows Support For Palestinian Student Shot In VT In Apparent Hate Crime College In CT Shows Support For Palestinian Student Shot In VT In Apparent Hate Crime
College In CT Shows Support For Palestinian Student Shot In VT In Apparent Hate Crime A college community in Connecticut, alongside many nationwide, has been left reeling after a student of Palestinian descent was one of three shot in what appears to be a hate crime. Tahseen Ali Ahmad, age 20, who attends Trinity College in Hartford, was one of three men of the same age shot outside of a house in Burlington, Vermont on Sunday, Nov. 26, the school announced. Ali Ahmad and the two other men — Kinnan Abdalhamid and Hisham Awartani, also of Palestinian descent — were lifelong friends visiting a relative’s house near the University of Vermont's campus for the Thanksgiving holid…

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by Sophie Grieser
Drexel Hill-Upper Darby, PA
News
Palestinian PA College Student Shot In Vermont: Authorities Palestinian PA College Student Shot In Vermont: Authorities
Palestinian PA College Student Shot In Vermont: Authorities A National Registered Emergency Medical Technician Sprinter and Pennsylvania college student has been identified as one of three Palestinian men shot in Burlington, Vermont on Saturday night, authorities announced on Sunday, Nov. 26.  Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdel Hamid, and Tahseen Ahmed — who were all identified by their families and are all 20 years old — were visiting family friends over the Thanksgiving break when they were shot while walking along North Prospect Street in Burlington at 6:25 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 25, Burlington Chief of Police Jon Murad detailed in a release.  An un…

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by Jillian Pikora