Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh, PA – A man is accused of using antisemitic slurs against workers along Murray Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood and choking a business owner.
Workers told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 that the suspect, David Aul has yelled racist and antisemitic rhetoric at them in recent days.
Aul is facing several charges including strangulation and disorderly conduct.
Shawn Brokos, director of community security with the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, said she is seeing expressions and acts of hate increase across the country and in Squirrel Hill.
“The trauma that has endured in our community from 10/27/2018, it’s still there. It’s still very much real,” Brokos said. “We are absolutely seeing a rise in the antisemitism, we are seeing it across the country. This weekend, we saw the shooting in Buffalo, which is a hate crime.”
She’s received reports of people feeling unsafe walking through Squirrel Hill.
“We, just last week, had the arrest of an individual that was hurling antisemitic rhetoric at members of the Jewish Community just as they are walking down Murray Avenue,” Brokos said.
That suspect, police said is Aul. He was reported for shoplifting from Rite Aid. According to the criminal complaint, when an employee confronted him, he spit on her.
That employee said off-camera, Aul yelled racial slurs and antisemitic rhetoric at employees. Two days prior, Aul was reportedly making antisemitic statements to others on Murray Avenue, and went into a local business, and harassed customers and workers.
The business owner said he wants to keep his identity private, but as detailed in the criminal complaint, he said Aul grabbed the hands of a female employee when she was there alone.
“My worker now is afraid. She can’t stay here alone anymore. She’s afraid he will come back,” the owner said.
When the owner asked Aul to leave – the owner said aul put his hands around the owner’s neck and choked him.
“We had received no less than four complaints prior to his arrest an individual matching his description harassing and threatening members of the Jewish community right in and around that Murray Avenue area,” Brokos said. “Why are we still seeing this in our community.”
The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh meets often with police to discuss how they can fight anti-Semitism, but they ask that if you see or hear anything of concern that you report it to police and the Jewish Federation so the organization can be aware.
