Ohio Hindu temple attacked with bricks while worshippers inside
Bricks shattered windows at the Shree Swaminarayan Hindu Temple Vadtaldham in Richmond Heights, Ohio, while priests and devotees were inside. Advocacy groups are calling for a hate crime investigation as authorities review surveillance footage.
A Hindu temple in the Greater Cleveland area was vandalized Friday afternoon when bricks were thrown at the building, shattering windows while priests and devotees were inside, according to two Hindu American advocacy organizations.
The Hindu American Foundation and the Coalition of Hindus of North America identified the site as the Shree Swaminarayan Hindu Temple Vadtaldham in Richmond Heights, a Cleveland suburb. CoHNA said the attack occurred while priests and some devotees were present. No injuries have been reported.
The advocacy groups said the incident caused considerable damage to the temple. Surveillance footage from the site is being reviewed by authorities. HAF said it was in contact with temple leaders and providing support, and that the FBI and the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division were being notified about the attack.
«This possible hate crime comes at a time of unprecedented hate & vitriol directed at the Hindu American community,» HAF said in a post on X, calling on law enforcement to prioritize identifying and apprehending those responsible. CoHNA also urged Richmond Heights officials and police to respond, saying, «We call upon Mayor Kim Thomas and @RichmondHtsOH to condemn such bigotry and @PoliceRichmond to take swift action against the perpetrator.»
HAF Executive Director Suhag Shukla condemned the reported attack and called for authorities to review the surveillance footage and identify the person or people responsible.
The incident comes as Ohio's Indian American community prepares to observe Hindu Heritage Month and celebrate Navratri, the Hindu festival honoring the divine feminine, later this month. The reported vandalism adds to a series of incidents involving Hindu religious sites in the United States in recent years.
HAF has previously documented vandalism at Hindu temples and religious sites, including a Gandhi statue at Shri Tulsi Mandir in Queens, New York, in 2022 and graffiti at the SMVS Shri Swaminarayan Temple in Newark, California, in 2023. The organization also reported attacks or vandalism involving BAPS temples in New York and California in 2024, including hateful messages found at the BAPS Hindu Mandir in Chino Hills, California.
Authorities have not publicly established a motive for the Richmond Heights incident. Whether the vandalism will ultimately be investigated as a hate crime will depend on the findings of law enforcement.
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