A Bronx man was arrested Friday after he allegedly ransacked a Sheepshead Bay yoga studio and defaced it with an antisemitic hate symbol.
The suspect, 40-year-old William Klare, was charged with burglary, aggravated harassment, criminal mischief, and criminal trespass as hate crimes — as well as criminal possession of stolen property, according to the NYPD.
On July 18, Klare allegedly ransacked Yoga Hell on East 17th Street after he slipped into the building as someone else was leaving. Cops said the man vandalized religious items inside the studio, drew a swastika on a chalkboard, and stole a prayer document.
According to Gothamist, Klare wrote”Nazi Punx F–k Off” beside the swastika on the chalkboard and ripped a mezuzah from the studios door — and appeared to have stolen the Torah scroll inside. The studio’s owner, Katia Riva, told the outlet she asked the building’s landlord to change the security code on the first floor, and had installed her own security system after the incident.
Klare was captured on camera fleeing the studio on foot after the incident, and was arrested in the 61st Precinct, which includes Sheepshead Bay, on Friday afternoon.
Last year, 12 anti-Jewish hate crimes were reported in the 61st Precinct, according to NYPD statistics, and three people were arrested in connection with those complaints.
