Police are looking for a man with a limp they say has defaced three sites, including Wall Street's famed Charging Bull and City Hall, with swastikas in an 11-day span, the NYPD said Wednesday.
The two most recent incidents occurred this week. On Monday, the suspect drew a swastika on a pillar at City Hall's entrance on Beekman Street and Park Row around 6:30 p.m. Less than 30 hours later, on Tuesday night, cops say the same man struck again, this time spraypainting a swastika on the Charging Bull statue.
The first case in the pattern dates back to Dec. 3, when the man drew three swastikas on a wall inside a construction site on Maiden Lane in the middle of the afternoon. The NYPD hasn't shared details on a possible motive for the targets.
The department's Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating.
Mayor Bill de Blasio condemned the crimes in a tweet, writing, "This would be outrageous anywhere in our city but it's especially galling for it to happen outside the building where the people's work is done."
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Gov. Kathy Hochul also said she was appalled by the reports and directed the New York State Police to assist in the ongoing investigation.
"No one should walk the streets in fear of hate, bigotry and antisemitism," the Democrat said. "An attack on a Jewish New Yorker is an attack on all of us. If you commit a hate crime, you are picking a fight with 20 million New Yorkers. We are united in saying that hate has no home here in New York."
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The suspect was last seen wearing a black and gray poncho, black jeans and multicolored sneakers. He had a black backpack with him, cops said, and appears to walk with a limp.
Anyone with information about him is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
