MOUNT DORA, Fla.,None — Members of the Mount Dora community came together Saturday afternoon to clean off vulgar anti-Semitic slogans and satanic symbols spray painted on the side of a synagogue.
Police believe vandals defaced the Traditional Congregation of Mount Dora Friday night. The synagogue is still under construction, and the vandalism was meant to tear the community apart. Instead, it brought it together.
That graffiti, thats not Mount Dora. But all these people eradicating this horrible situation, thats Mount Dora, said Mount Dora Mayor Melissa DeMarco.
Dozens of concerned neighbors of all denominations spent the morning scrubbing and washing away the hateful vandalism. The Lake County Sheriffs Office also brought out its crime scene techs to collect evidence and find some clues as to who did this.
The vandalism is now being considered a hate crime making it a felony. There is a $5,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest. In the meantime, Saturdays volunteers hope tolerance and a sense of community will mend all wounds.
This community has come together and we will not put up with this kind of viciousness and this kind of nastiness. We will fight it, said DeMarco.