Police in Long Beach, Long Island, New York have arrested and charged a man with the vandalism and burglary of a Chabad synagogue, which saw two Torah scrolls stolen.
The synagogue, known as Chabad of the Beaches, was burgled over the weekend, the ark broken, Torah scrolls thrown around the floor and two other Torah scrolls stolen along with several pieces of silver.
The suspect, 23-year-old Hunter McElrath, was discovered by police entirely naked save for a Jewish prayer shawl (tallit) at the beach, local outlet Newsday reported.
No motive was apparent, but the police do not think it was an antisemitic crime, Newsday reported.
My heart broke at hearing the news that the Long Beach, NY Chabad was vandalized and had Torahs stolen. If you can please donate below to help Rabbi Goodman restore the beautiful shul https://t.co/umDijm8jYc pic.twitter.com/FCNOONtSUe
— Lena | לנה (@KosherLena) August 22, 2021
It is unclear how McElrath was able to get into the synagogue, but according to the synagogue's Rabbi Eli Goodman, it may have been through the back doors.
"We just renovated the synagogue and are replacing some of the doors," Goodman explained to The Jerusalem Post. "Someone was supposed to come earlier to replace them, but with the hurricane, things got delayed."
Several of the silver ornaments were returned, with people having discovered them washed up on the beach. The Torah scrolls, however, remain lost.
Goodman explained that they plan to take some boats into the water to see if they can find anything else that was stolen.
The loss of Torah scrolls is especially damaging, as they are extremely valuable, ranging in the tens of thousands of dollars.
Those who wish to help the Chabad can donate money to their website here.