Hate crimes detectives are looking for three suspects who scrawled swastikas in Queens and Manhattan last month in two separate incidents.
According to police sources, the first hateful act occurred at around 3:22 p.m. on Jan. 21 inside of Manhattan’s Washington Square Park.
Cops say a man approached the iconic arch in Greenwich Village and painted a black swastika on the column. Sources familiar with the incident report that the man also wrote the word “Elon” on the arch, an apparent reference to billionaire Elon Musk.
The suspected vandal, cops said, was seen fleeing the park on foot, is described as wearing a grey sweater, hat and black pants. The NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the graffiti.
The incident occurred a day after Donald Trump was inaugurated as president for the second time; Musk delivered what many described as a Nazi salute while attending an inauguration-related event hours later in Washington.
Regarding the second vandalism incident, cops said two men scrawled a swastika on the campus of St. John’s University, at 8000 Utopia Pkwy. in Jamaica, at around 5:15 p.m. on Jan. 24.
Cops said the vandals scrawled the swastika in snow on the grounds, shocking and offending those on campus.
One man was last seen wearing a black bubble jacket, black hoodie sweater, black sweatpants and black sneakers. The second individual was last seen wearing a black jacket, black jeans and white and black sneakers.
Both are believed to be between the ages of 18 and 20. They fled on foot.
Anyone with information regarding the perpetrators or thier whereabouts can call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS (for Spanish, dial 888-57-PISTA). You can also submit tips online at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on X (formerly Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
