Swastikas Found Outside North Suburban Church
MORTON GROVE, Ill. (CBS) - Police are investigating two swastikas found spray-painted on pavement outside north suburban church last week.
Principal Mike Naumann said a neighborhood resident was walking past Jerusalem Lutheran Church and School in Morton Grove on Oct. 11 and saw the graffiti, Pioneer Press is reporting.
That person informed school board member Dan Hoffman, who was bringing his daughter to school. Naumann said Hoffman cleaned up the pavement immediately.
Morton Grove police said they are investigating but don't have evidence to call it a hate crime at this point.
"There's nothing else written on the building to indicate that it was a hate crime," said Police Cmdr. Mike Fujara. "As far as I'm concerned, until we have a suspect or an offender in custody who we can question him regarding the matter, we're going to handle it as a criminal damage to property."
Naumann said the swastikas were side by side and about eight inches by eight inches.
"I personally don't think it was a hate crime," Naumann said. "But some people -- we're guessing -- maybe they thought we were Jewish because of our name and so they put swastikas. That's conjecture. It's really guessing."
Glass blocks on one side of the building were broken out about a year or two ago, Naumann said. And in August, a line of prongs were installed above a set of stairs to prevent people from climbing onto the roof.
He said he believes all the incidents are general mischief or vandalism.
