Attack on Armenian school in San Francisco to be investigated as hate crime

The vandalism and attack on San Francisco’s Krouzian-Zekarian Vasbouragan school and the adjacent community center will be investigated as a hate crime, the San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin announced late Friday, Asbarez reports.

“We are absolutely treating this investigation as a hate crime. It is outrageous. It is an attack on every single one of us in San Francisco. There is no place for intolerance or hate,” Boudin told KTVU 2, the local FOX affiliate in San Francisco.

On Friday, San Francisco Armenian community members woke up to the horrific site of anti-Armenian—pro-Azerbaijani—graffiti spray painted on the walls of the school, which is a pre-K to eight grade school run by the Board of Regents of the Prelacy Armenian Schools. The adjacent community center, on Brotherhood Way, was also vandalized with hate speech.

San Francisco District Attorney Boudin was the first to express outrage at the hate attack.

“Someone vandalized the Armenian school/community center. I’m outraged. This is totally inconsistent with San Francisco values. It is also a CRIME,” said Boudin on Twitter Friday. “We are working with San Francisco Police Department to investigate. We stand with our Armenian brothers and sisters.”

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said: “Each and every one of us has a duty to stand up to hate wherever it appears. The KZV Armenian School is a part of the beautiful fabric of our San Francisco family. The hateful defacing of this place of community & learning is a disgrace.”

Pelosi was joined by fellow Bay Area Congresswoman Jackie Speier, who also Tweeted Saturday saying, “The vandalism scarring the KZV School and Armenian Community Center must be investigated. It is an act of hate and should be considered a hate crime. My heart goes out to KZV’s students, teachers and parents. The perpetrators must be brought to justice.”

This hate crime follows a pattern of racially-motivated attacks against Armenians, including the mob attacks against Armenians by Azerbaijanis in Russia, an arson attack on an Armenian embassy vehicle in Germany, and the deliberate burning down of an Armenian business in Ukraine. A similar incident involving racially charged anti-Armenian vandalism of Armenian schools in Los Angeles took place last year, forcing these schools to be on high alert to closely monitor the situation.