Police Arrest Man Accused Of Vandalizing Ambulances With Swastikas
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) – A man who investigators say plastered swastikas and messages of hate all over several ambulances twice in one week has been arrested.
A Fire Department spokesman says on Facebook that Jem R. Ibrahimov, 42, of Manhattan was arrested by fire marshals who caught him in the act while they were staking out an upper Manhattan firehouse that had been vandalized twice before. The firehouse had been hit with graffiti that included swastikas and the words "Nazi rapist pigs."
Police say Ibrahimov has been arrested on multiple charges including aggravated harassment.
"I commend our Fire Marshals for their great investigative work to apprehend an individual who defaced FDNY facilities and apparatus with hateful symbols and language," said Fire Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro.
Authorities say four FDNY ambulances were vandalized Friday morning while they were parked in front of two emergency service stations in Washington Heights.
Detectives told CBS2's Marc Liverman that they believe the man who struck Friday morning was the same suspect responsible for drawing swastikas and anti-Semitic messages on ambulances in the same area Sunday morning.
That incident was caught on surveillance video, catching the man walking up to one of the ambulances and vandalizing it. Police confirmed that they were investigating Sunday's incident as a hate crime.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)