Plywood covers the damaged windows at Beth Sholom Congregation in Potomac, Md. (WAMU)
14 windows were shot out at the synagogue and local Jewish-affiliated businesses.
The Beth Sholom synagogue in Washington DC had its windows shot out on Monday the eve of Passover
YNet reported:
Unknown elements used a pellet gun to shatter the windows of the Beth Sholom synagogue in Washington D.C. on Monday – Passover eve. They also fired at the window displays of a women’s clothing store and jewelry store owned by Jews. Police have yet to trace the suspects and have not ruled out the possibility the act was a hate crime.
The shooting occurred on Monday night when the synagogue was empty. There were no injuries. A synagogue element told NBC News that the motive for the crime was unclear. The jewelry store owner estimated it was a childish prank.
Police are currently looking into both scenarios and are working to trace the owners of a car seen in footage from the shopping center’s security cameras.
Tow Jewish-affiliated businesses in the area were also shot at.
The Daily Journal reported:
Montgomery County police say someone used a BB gun to shoot holes in several windows at a synagogue in Potomac and at two nearby businesses.
The vandalism was discovered early Monday at Beth Sholom Congregation on Seven Locks Road. The Jewish holiday of Passover begins Monday evening.
Officer Howard Hersh, a police spokesman, says investigators haven’t determined whether the act was a hate crime. He says the two businesses have Jewish affiliations. They are a jewelry store and a women’s clothing store.
Hersh says surveillance video shows the suspected shooter driving up to the stores in a vehicle around 1:20 a.m. Monday
