Los Gatos Vandalism Attack Probed As Hate Crime: Report

LOS GATOS, CA — A vandalism attack on a Los Gatos cultural center is being investigated as a hate crime, KTVU reports.

Profanities directed at an ethnic group that’s at the center of a raging conflict thousands of miles away were written in black paint Tuesday on the walls of the Azerbaijan Cultural Society Building.

A man was captured on surveillance video scrawling graffiti on the building.

Among the inscriptions were “F—k Turks,” and F—k” Azeri.

An ethnic war between Azerbaijan and Armenia that broke out Sept. 27 is blamed for escalating tensions in the Bay Area, the report said.

At the center of the conflict is a territorial dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh, a home to ethnic Armenians internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, The New York Times reports.

The conflict has international observers on edge, with fears that an escalation of the war could widen, drawing in regional powers.

Azerbaijan is allied with Turkey, and Armenia is backed by Russia.

But this South Bay incident isn’t the first to occur in the Bay Area between the two ethnic groups in recent

An arson attack on the San Francisco Armenian Community Center on Sept. 17, and a vandalism incident occurred at the San Francisco Armenian School, the report said.

"We are worried that the conflict that is happening overseas is seeping into our peaceful life here in California," Bakhtiyar Neyman, a board member with the Azerbaijan Cultural Society of Northern California, told KTVU.

A spokeswoman for the Armenian National Committee of America's San Francisco Chapter told KTVU her group condemned the Los Gatos incident.

"The community was shocked when we heard about this vandalism at the Azeri Center," Makasdjian told the television station.

"We don't wish this type of vandalism and hate crimes to happen to anybody here especially so close to us here in the Bay Area."

The Azerbaijani Cultural Society of Northern California condemned the incident in a statement on its website, saying it “is deeply saddened by the ugly act of hate crimes across California.”

“Please reach out to the police directly if you feel unsafe and if you need anything else, we are always here for our community. We believe in a culture of inclusivity, love and kindness.

“At Azerbaijan Cultural Society (ACSNC), we are committed in taking care of our community members, and in this time we need all of our community to come together and take care of those in need.”

Read more at KTVU