A Hindu temple in Ohio’s Greater Cleveland area was attacked with bricks on Friday afternoon, shattering windows while priests and devotees were inside, the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) and the Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA) said.
The Shree Swaminarayan Vadtal Dham Hindu Mandir in Richmond Heights was attacked around 1:30 pm local time, HAF said in a post on X. The organisation said bricks were thrown at the temple, causing “significant damage”, and that surveillance footage was available and being reviewed by authorities.
CoHNA said the attack occurred while priests and some devotees were inside the temple and that windows were shattered. The organisation urged Richmond Heights Mayor Kim Thomas and local law enforcement to condemn the incident and take swift action against those responsible.
⚠️Hindu temple attacked in Ohio today| At 1:30 PM today, the Shree Swaminarayan Vadtal Dham Hindu Mandir in Richmond Heights, Ohio was attacked by perpetrator(s) who threw bricks at the temple causing significant damage.
There was no immediate public identification of a suspect or confirmation of an arrest. Authorities have also not publicly established a motive for the attack.
HAF described the incident as a possible hate crime and said it was alerting the FBI and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. It also called on elected leaders and government agencies to condemn what it described as hateful rhetoric directed at Hindu and Indian-American communities.
“This is real now. Online hate has morphed into a real-world attack on a Hindu temple,” HAF executive director Suhag Shukla said in a post on X, calling for the surveillance footage to be reviewed and the perpetrator to be identified.
Act of ‘Hinduphobia’: CoHNA
CoHNA described the incident as an act of “Hinduphobia” and said it came as Hindus in Ohio were beginning celebrations for Hindu Heritage Month, with Navratri due to begin in less than 10 days. The organisation did not provide evidence establishing a religious motive for the attack.
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The incident comes amid concerns raised by Hindu-American organisations over vandalism and attacks targeting Hindu religious sites in the US. CoHNA has documented previous incidents, including vandalism at Hindu temples in New York, California and elsewhere. However, it is yet to be established whether the latest attack has any connection with the earlier incidents.
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