Ohio Hindu temple vandalized, rattling worshippers

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(RNS) — Several dozen Hindu priests and worshippers were inside a temple in a Cleveland suburb last Friday evening when the peaceful ambience was broken by the sound of shattering glass.

Around 5:30 p.m., someone threw bricks at the windows of Shree Swaminarayan Vadtal Dham, shattering one and sending glass shards flying inside the Richmond Heights temple. While no one was injured, worshippers say the incident alarmed the tight-knit community.

Police are not treating the incident as a targeted attack. “There’s no evidence that suggests there’s any hate motivation or racial motivation or religious motivation,” said Evan Wright, a detective with Richmond Heights Police Department, adding that the suspect has been identified but not apprehended and was likely experiencing a mental health crisis. Wright said the investigation is ongoing.

Rakesh Ranjan, a psychiatrist who worships at the temple and the director of Cleveland’s chapter of the Coalition of Hindus in North America, had heard about instances of anti-Hindu attacks around the country before, but he said he never felt unsafe because…