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Teen Allegedly Burns, Draws Swastika On Black Family’s Home

Burning Bright: Bonfires are a traditional symbol of Lag B?Omer. But do we have the holiday all wrong? Image by Thinkstock

By Daniel J. Solomon May 18, 2017

A teenager is in police custody after authorities said he scrawled a swastika on and burned the garage of a black family’s home in the suburbs of Albany, New York.

Jennifer and Laquan Madison – along with their five children – ran out of their burning home late on Sunday night after discovering the blaze, according to the Albany Times-Union.

It took the work of five volunteer departments to stop the fire, which reduced the garage to rubble. The couple also found scribbled on the home a swastika and the n-word.

The unidentified teen was nabbed by authorities in the suburban town of Schodack and charged with almost a dozen crimes, including arson and reckless endangerment.

The couple described themselves as shaken, but resolved to remain in their house and community.

“It’s not going to force me to move,” Laquan Madison told the newspaper. His wife Jennifer added, “This is our home. This is where we live.”

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at solomon@forward.com or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon

Daniel J. Solomon is the former Assistant to the Editor/News Writer at the Forward. Originally from Queens, he attended Harvard as an undergraduate, where he wrote his senior thesis on French-Jewish intellectual history. He is excited to have returned to New York after his time in Massachusetts. Daniel’s passions include folk music, cycling, and pointed argument.

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