What to Know
- The man who cops believe spray-painted hateful messages toward Muslims at a Brooklyn elementary school has been arrested, police said
- Alan Tatten was charged for allegedly writing the anti-Muslim rhetoric on several entrance doors to P.S. 52 in Sheepshead Bay
- It was not clear if Tatten was also responsible for spray-painting the words “kills Arabs” at a bus stop
The man who cops believe spray-painted hateful messages toward Muslims at a Brooklyn elementary school has been arrested, police said.
Alan Tatten, of Sheepshead Bay, was charged with aggravated harassment and criminal mischief for allegedly writing the anti-Muslim rhetoric on several entrance doors to P.S. 52 — which has a large Arab student population.
Parents of children who attend the elementary school were shocked someone would direct that language toward children, and had to walk-by the racist message with their children for the first half of this week until it was painted over.
Police believe Tatten tagged the door on Sunday night.
It was not clear if the 55-year-old was also responsible for another act of hateful vandalism less than a mile away, where the words “kills Arabs” were spray-painted at a bus stop near Nostrand Avenue and Avenue V.
Hate crimes in New York City is up from the same time last year. The number of crimes directed at Muslims has remained the same.
Local
Information regarding an attorney for Tatten was not immediately available.
