Chicago North Side Palestinian café vandalized for second time in over a month, owners say
CHICAGO (CBS) — For the second time in over a month, a Palestinian café says it was vandalized. Owners say the latest incident happened overnight on the city's North Side.
A vandal targeted the Nabala Café in the 4600 block of North Broadway around 5:30 a.m., smashing four windows, according to the café's Instagram account. Chicago police said three windows and a glass door were broken.
Surveillance video obtained by CBS News Chicago shows what happened outside of the café. The footage shows a person with their head and face covered, holding a baseball bat, walking by before smashing the glass out of the windows and door of the business.
"Closed to start the day, we'll keep y'all posted on when we're back up and running," the post said.
One of the windows displayed the Palestinian flag that was moved following the first incident that happened during the Labor Day weekend, leaving one window broken.
A week later, over 100 customers showed up in a show of support for the café and its owner, Eyad Zeid, who has been operating the business since July. He believed it stemmed from the ongoing war in Gaza, but Chicago police did not classify it as a hate crime. The latest incident was classified as criminal damage to property.
After raising money for the smashed window, the café also raised nearly $10,000 to provide emergency relief to families in Gaza.
As of Friday, no arrests have been made in either incident.