The vandalism of a Smitten Ice Cream store in San Francisco was investigated as a hate crime

Smitten closed its Valencia Avenue location final week after vandalism, saying the closure in an Instagram submit that didn’t point out why. In keeping with Mission Native, vandals smashed some storefront home windows and wrote “Free Palestine” on one window, misspelling Palestine.
Cops who known as the shop Wednesday at 2:49 a.m. “discovered a enterprise with smashed entrance home windows,” stated Johnny Sepulveda, a spokesman for the San Francisco Police Division. As of Monday night, Sepulveda stated no arrests had been made, and investigators had decided that “the shop was vandalized for unknown causes.”
“Smitten has no spiritual or political affiliation,” Fisher wrote Tuesday. “I’m a Jewish lady, and the group we’ve constructed at Smitten is splendidly various, as is the case in our stunning metropolis.”
Ryan Motzek, president of the Mission Retailers Affiliation, stated he was shocked that “an harmless firm simply making an attempt to serve ice cream” was being focused.
“We stand firmly towards any type of hatred,” Motsek stated in an interview on Monday night. “Freedom of expression is necessary, however Islamophobia and anti-Semitism haven’t any place in San Francisco, and we stand for that.”

Fisher stated she was inspired by the group assist within the aftermath.
“We can not know what was going by the thoughts of the unknown particular person or people who did this in depth injury to our retailer,” Fisher stated. “What we do know is that because the assault occurred, a whole bunch and a whole bunch of individuals in our group and throughout the nation have reached out in solidarity and assist.”
As of Tuesday, the storefront continued to be lined in plywood.
Fisher stated seeing “damaged glass and scrawls on the partitions” in her retailer left her feeling nothing however “concern and deep disappointment” however she stays dedicated to her mission, saying she created Smitten “to unfold pleasure and harness the spirit of ice cream to be a unifying power in the neighborhood.”