Someone has been spraying images of male genitalia on property in the Westville neighborhood of New Haven for the last five months, including on a synagogue. Police have been trying to identify the person and finally have surveillance images of the man they think is responsible.
The man, who police referred to in a news release as a “member-marking mischief-maker” has tagged the properties with the word “penis” or images of one, police said.
The photos police released came from Congregation Beth El-Keser Israel Synagogue, at 85 Harrison St., on Wednesday and they show a man in a doorway urinate on the building. They he spots the surveillance camera above him, looks directly at it, and gives the camera lens a blast of spray paint, police said.
“We really don’t appreciate this and you should not do this, it’s a crime and it’s an insult to the community,” said Evan Trachten, the Westville neighborhood specialist with New Haven’s Livable City Initiative.
The vandal tagged six locations that night, including the traffic control box at the synagogue’s corner, according to police.
Anyone with information should call Sgt. Renee Dominguez at 203-946-7560.
Justin Schecker contributed to this report.
