Swastikas were found painted inside a St. Louis synagogue this week. (KMOV)
The Swastikas were found on the inside of the Bris Shalom Kneseth Israel synagogue in Richond Heights.
KMOV reported:
Police said spray painted swastikas were found on the walls of a Richmond Heights synagogue, but the action is not being considered a hate crime.
Richmond Heights police told News 4 swastikas and other messages were painted on the walls of Brith Shalom Kneseth Israel on East Linden. Despite the swastikas, police do not believe it was a hate crime.
“We believe this was kids in the neighborhood, vandalism. There was no consistency of message or anything like that,” said Mitchell Shenker, the president of Kol Rina Congregation.
On one occasion, property managers caught three teens spray painting graffiti. Two were 14-years-old, the other suspect is 17. The 17-year-old could face charges for property damage and trespassing. The 14-year-old suspects will be turned over to juvenile court.
“I guess we’ve all been young, and done stupid things,” Shenker said. “That’s how we look at it. That they’ve done stupid things and they need to understand the consequences of their actions and pay a fair price for that.”