Hate crime charges filed after San Francisco mosque’s windows smashed with skateboard
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SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — A man who allegedly used a skateboard to vandalize a San Francisco mosque during Ramadan was identified by police on Thursday.
Robert Gray, 35, of San Francisco, was arrested in connection to the April 4 mosque incident in Nob Hill, according to police. Surveillance cameras recorded a man breaking windows and defacing the entrance to Masjid al-Tawheed on Sutter Street.
Officers nabbed Gray when he returned to Masjid al-Tawheed mosque on the night of April 10, police told KRON4.
Prosecutors filed hate crime and vandalism charges against Gray on Thursday.
District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said, “Vandalism of this nature is completely unacceptable and is even more alarming as it occurred during the holy month of Ramadan and while Muslim families were present praying and worshipping. Our houses of worship are sacred spaces and targeting them in any way will not be tolerated in San Francisco.”
Council on American-Islamic Relations San Francisco Bay Area Executive Director Zahra Billoo said the incident “serves as a reminder of the ongoing challenges we face in combating Islamophobia.”
The District Attorney’s Office said it will ask a judge on Friday to keep Gray in custody without bail. If convicted of the charges, he will face up to six years in state prison.
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