Swastikas Spray-Painted By Vandals At Reston Shopping Center

RESTON, VA — Vandals spray-painted swastikas and profanity on the sidewalks and walls of businesses in North Point Shopping Center early Wednesday morning.

Fairfax County Police responded at 6:05 a.m., for the report of a graffiti in the 1400 block of North Point Village Center, according to the daily crime report. Officers found swastikas had been spray-painted on the sidewalk and nearby areas of the North Point Shopping Center. The case remains under investigation.

Hunter Mill Supervisor Walter Alcorn issued the following statement Wednesday about the incident:

This morning I learned that several swastikas and random profanity were spray painted on and around the North Point Shopping Center in Reston. Reston and the Hunter Mill District have a long history of inclusion and racial and ethnic diversity. Acts of hate will not be tolerated. And vandalism and hate crimes are both criminal acts. Throughout this pandemic we have witnessed tremendous community spirit and goodness and I am confident that will continue. The Police Department is investigating and I encourage anyone with information related to this incident to call the Police non-emergency number at 703-691-2131.

According to a spokeswoman from Alcorn's office, neighbors of North Point Shopping Center provided lunch to the workers who were using power washers to remove the spray paint.

Also, a thank you note signed "The Moms of Reston NP" was posted in the window of one of the businesses. "Lunch for ALL who are working so hard to keep Reston beautiful today! We are Reston Strong! Thank you! Hate Has No Place Here!" the note read.

Rabbi Michael Holzman of the Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation, which is located on Wielhe Avenue in Reston, visited the shopping center in the afternoon. By that time, all of the graffiti had been removed.

"People are scared out in the world right now," Holzman said. "We lack coherent leadership from our political officials in the country. People are anxious and the easiest thing for human beings to do when they are anxious is to look for an enemy. ... It's not surprising that when we see graffiti, we see swastikas, because these are all acts of hate against women or African Americans or Jews. It's all the same thing. It's a human reaction to seek an enemy."

Holzman shared the sentiments of Alcorn and the residents who wrote the note that Reston is a welcoming and tolerant community.

"I can speak for our part of Fairfax County, the leadership of the county and the local institutions and houses of worship have all been extraordinarily supportive over the years," he said.

NVHC's synagogue, for example, houses the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) Center, which serves the Muslim community of Northern Virginia.

"This is completely outside the norm of what's happening in local life," Holzman said. "I tend to think it has to do with people who are not connected to our leadership institutions locally, and people who are alienated and isolated and not participating in the life of the community, who don't realize how welcoming this place is."