Montreal police have arrested a suspect after a number of swastikas have been spray-painted on the doorways of a Westmount synagogue.
It was a safety guard who first noticed the suspicious exercise Wednesday afternoon whereas monitoring the surveillance cameras on the Congregation Shaar Hashomayim on Côte-Saint-Antoine Highway, in response to a Fb publish by Rabbi Adam Scheier.
“We start by reassuring you that everybody on the Shaar, Akiva College, and Basis College is secure,” Scheier stated, describing the incident as an “anti-Jewish act.”
The Shaar’s safety guard instantly went to apprehend the perpetrator, Scheier stated, after which known as for assist.
“Inside a short while the police arrived and arrested the person,” the rabbi stated. “The perpetrator had a canister of gasoline with him.”
Scheier posted a number of pictures to Fb, one in every of which exhibits a crimson gasoline canister on the road subsequent to a police cruiser.
Scheier stated the graffiti has been eliminated and there’s no purpose to imagine there might be any additional assaults in opposition to the synagogue, however “we’ll stay vigilant as all the time.”
The Jewish neighborhood is outraged by at present’s vile assault on Congregation Shaar Hashomayim in Westmount. This assault targets your entire neighborhood and all those that embrace civility and tolerance. (1/3) <a href=”https://t.co/LN12Fhb89J”>pic.twitter.com/LN12Fhb89J</a>
—@FederationCJA
There was no battle or violence and the suspect was arrested on web site as quickly as police arrived on scene, in response to a Montreal police spokesperson.
The spokesperson says the suspect will endure a psychiatric analysis.
The Federation CJA, a Jewish group, has condemned the vandalism.
“The Jewish neighborhood is outraged by at present’s vile assault on Congregation Shaar Hashomayim in Westmount,” the federation stated in a tweet.
“This assault targets your entire neighborhood and all those that embrace civility and tolerance.”
