Swastikas etched onto car, tires slashed outside ZBT house

and | Student Life Editors

Max LaVictoire, a sophomore living in the Zeta Beta Tau (ZBT) house at 7020 Forsyth Blvd., returned from Spring Break Friday to find three swastikas keyed onto his car and all of his tires slashed

Three other cars on Forsyth and in the ZBT lot –-all ZBT members–had their tires slashed as well, but no tires were slashed outside the Chabad house, which is right next to the fraternity house. “Ben” was scratched into one of the cars, although that is not the owner’s name.

The University City Police Department are investigating the crime as vandalism, not a hate crime. They believe it happened between Thursday and Friday.

LaVictoire felt like the crime was directed at the fraternity.

“Nothing happened to Chabad, so I feel like if they were trying to target Jews that would have been an obvious target,” LaVictoire said. “It seems like it’s more ZBT-related because the other cars that got their tires slashed were parked at places where only ZBTs live, but not at formal ZBT housing.”

Two swastikas were scratched on LaVictoire’s tailgate and one on the driver’s side door of his Dodge Ram 1500 truck, he said.

ZBT member and junior Travis Fleishman told Student Life that the Anti-Defamation League has gotten involved in the case as well.

ZBT is a historically Jewish fraternity, though it is open to students of any background.

Check back at studlife.com for more information.

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