Westside Jewish Schools, Cars Hit With Anti-Semitic​ Graffiti

LOS ANGELES, CA — A vandal spray-painted anti-Semitic graffiti on three West LA Jewish schools and parked cars over the weekend, and now police hope someone will recognize a potential suspect captured in video footage.

Police Wednesday released the video footage of a person believed to be linked to the vandalism that appeared throughout the West Los Angeles area between Saturday and Monday. Authorities are investigating whether the vandalism may be linked to a series of similar acts in the San Fernando Valley area.

According to the Los Angeles Police Department, "numerous" vehicles were spray-painted with graffiti between 6 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. Sunday in the Beverlywood and Pico-Robertson areas.

On Monday around 9 p.m., three Jewish schools along the 15000 block of Mulholland Drive were vandalized with spray paint. The same night between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m., more vehicles were vandalized "in a similar manner near the Brentwood and Westwood communities of Los Angeles," according to an LAPD statement.

According to a report on the website LAist.com, the Westside campuses where the anti-Semitic graffiti was found included American Jewish University in Bel Air and Westwood Charter School.

The LAPD released video of someone wearing a red hoodie -- described as a person of interest in the case -- getting out of and back into what appears to be a gray or silver sedan. The video can be viewed at http://ow.ly/kKEv30q3bos.

An LAPD spokesman said Major Crimes Division detectives will be looking into a possible connection to vandalism that occurred in Calabasas between Monday night and Tuesday morning, where two dozen vehicles were spray- painted.

Police in Beverly Hills said a 24-year-old Pennsylvania man arrested Wednesday in Hawaii on suspicion of vandalism of religious property, commercial burglary and a hate crime allegation for allegedly breaking into Nessah Synagogue at 142 S. Rexford Drive about 2 a.m. Saturday and causing significant damage to some items inside is not being looked at this time as a suspect in the West Los Angeles and Calabasas vandalism cases.

Anyone with information regarding the crimes in Los Angeles was urged to call Major Crimes Division Detective B. Banachowski or Detective E. Hurd at 213-486-7220. After hours or on weekends, calls should be directed to 877-LAPD- 24-7.

Anonymous tips can be submitted through Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS or lacrimestoppers.org.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.