Man arrested in Tucson synagogue vandalism

A 30-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the recent vandalism at a Tucson synagogue, police said.

Police went to Chabad on River Synagogue, 3916 E. Fort Lowell Road, on June 7 after it was graffitied with a red swastika and an anti-Jewish slur.

On Thursday, Nathan Beaver was arrested near North First Avenue and East Roger Road and booked into jail on suspicion of aggravated criminal damage, police said in a news release.

“We have continually expressed we have no tolerance for crimes based on hate or targeted towards places of worship,” Police Chief Chris Magnus said in a news release Thursday. “This arrest confirms that commitment.”

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“I know this incident was deeply troubling to our entire community,” Mayor Regina Romero said in the same news release. “I appreciate the dedicated work of our police department’s officers and detectives to identify and apprehend the suspect.”

Rabbi Ram Bigelman, who found the graffiti hate symbols and oversees the congregation, told the Star earlier this month that the attack was disturbing.

The vandalism at Chabad on River followed an earlier incident in May in which a rock was thrown through a glass window in the front door of Congregation Chaverim, 5901 E. Second St.