UConn police have arrested a student accused of spray-painting a swastika on a building on the Storrs campus.
Investigators first learned of the anti-Semitic graffiti on the UConn Chemistry Building on March 27, the start of Passover. The building faces the Hillel House, a center for the Jewish community on campus.
The suspect has been identified as 21-year-old Kristopher Pieper, a student at the school, according to the arrest warrant. He was arrested Thursday and is charged with intimidation based on bigotry or bias and criminal mischief.
UConn said Pieper is a junior majoring in anthropology and geographic information science.
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According to the arrest warrant, Pieper initially denied painting the swastika but later admitted to the action and agreed to provide what investigators described as a statement and apology to Hillel House and the Jewish community.
"We are grateful to UConn Police for their efforts, which, along with our clearly articulated values as an institution, help to demonstrate that hateful acts such as these will never be tolerated at UConn," university President Thomas Katsouleas wrote in a letter to the community.
UConn police continue to investigating other hateful acts and speech that occured on campus this year.
