Damage on the Kansas State campus last week suspected to be anti-Semitic vandalism has been linked to severe weather, the K-State Police Department said in a statement Friday.
“We now consider this case closed and have determined no crime has taken place,” said K-State Police public information officer Lt. Bradli Millington.
A Jewish dwelling known as a sukkah was found wrapped around the car of the liaison between Housing and Dining Services and KSU Hillel, a Jewish student organization, on Oct. 6. The sukkah was a temporary gathering place for Jewish students and community members to eat or sleep during the holy week of Sukkot.
Multiple vehicles were damaged after the tent-like structure was uprooted shortly after 10:00 p.m.
“After interviews, research and further investigation, police determined that the damage was caused by Friday night’s thunderstorms, heavy rain and high winds,” the statement said. “No malicious intent was discovered.”
About 250 students, faculty and local residents attended a Sukkot solidarity dinner around a rebuilt sukkah Wednesday.
The reassessment is a break in a string of discriminatory incidents at K-State also targeting gay, Muslim and black students in 2017 alone.
