Montgomery County police are searching for a man suspected of vandalizing a synagogue in Rockville with hate-based insignias and phrases over the weekend.
Security footage shows an unidentified man pulling into the parking lot at Tikvat Israel Congregation at 1:38 AM on Saturday, March 28. The man then got out of his SUV, walked up to the building, and spray painted swastikas and epithets on the side of the building, police said in a press release. The Montgomery County Police Department did not immediately respond to DCist’s request for comment.
Police are asking locals with any information about the man in the footage to come forward by calling investigators at 240-773-6089. Crime Solvers of Montgomery County is also offering a $10,000 reward for any tips that lead to the arrest of the suspect, and callers can provide information anonymously at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).
Another local synagogue, Sixth & I, was vandalized just a few months ago with anti-Semitic grafitti, and rabbis at the organization told the Washington Post that the act fit into a pattern of increasingly frequent anti-Semitic hate crimes across the country. Just before that, in October, Washington Hebrew Congregation, a temple in McLean Gardens, was similarly defaced.