Crime & Safety

Cops Search For Men Who Scrawled Swastika On Brooklyn Yeshiva

The men were caught on surveillance video vandalizing the South Slope school in what Mayor Bill de Blasio called a "despicable" hate crime.

SOUTH SLOPE, BROOKLYN — Cops are searching for two men who drew a swastika on a Brooklyn yeshiva earlier this month in what the mayor has called a "vile act of anti-Semitism."

The two men, one wearing a full ski mask, were caught on surveillance video spray-painting on Mesilas Bias Yaakov High School around 2:18 p.m. on Dec. 13, police said.

The vandals drew the symbol along with the words "Ace" and "Rio" on the side of the 19th Street school before leaving on foot, police said.

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The NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the incident.

Police described one of the men as standing approximately 5'10" tall and weighing 170 pounds, with a medium build. He was last seen wearing a blue jacket, blue jeans, black sneakers and a backpack.

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The second man stands approximately 5'10" tall, weighs 250 pounds and has a large build and a full beard, police said. He was last seen wearing a black balaclava face mask, a black shirt, a button down jacket, blue jeans, brown sneakers and carrying a satchel bag.


Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM, or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls are strictly confidential.

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