The Los Angeles Police Department has launched hate crime investigations after multiple Jewish-owned businesses in Woodland Hills were vandalized, including two stores two doors from each other.
An LAPD spokesperson confirmed to KTLA that officers responded to a call of vandalism at a business in the 20900 block of Victory Boulevard just after 8 a.m. on Saturday morning.
When they arrived, they found that a rock had been thrown at a business with a note written in Aramaic.
Surveillance video captures a man walking up to the business before throwing a rock through the storefront.
A Jewish-owned business two doors down on the same property was also vandalized, likely by the same suspect or suspects, one business owner believes.
“Apparently, only me and my neighbor who have a mezuzah outside got broken into,” one storeowner said. “So, we know it’s a hate crime, and oddly enough, when we came in, there was a rock that said ‘payback’ and ‘glory,’ and I don’t know what that means.”
“Obviously, these guys are not happy with us being Jewish in the neighborhood,” he added.
The owners of the vandalized businesses told KTLA that another business – a dance studio – was vandalized on the same morning, and that another nearby Jewish-owned establishment had been vandalized two days prior.
The owner of the dance studio confirmed that she is not Jewish.
No injuries were reported in any of the vandalisms. No suspect descriptions were immediately released.
KTLA photojournalist Phil Ige contributed to this report.
