A Jewish holiday was marred in Oxford after three men vandalized a ritual structure at the Hillel near the Miami University campus.
The structure was a sukkah. It was a temporary structure set up behind the Hillel for a week-long religious holiday.
The vandalism was caught on security video at about 2 a.m. Oct. 15. The video spread quickly on social media.
“We saw the three guys jump the fence, and then they were like walking around the structure and then they just like flipped it all over,” said Miami University student Sara Louttit. “It’s just it’s such a tragic thing that happened.”
“We are that family for the Jewish students at Miami. So, to see strangers in our backyard, in our house, backyard, really eyeing it, going inside and then deciding to destroy it — it was a violation of the highest kind. It was truly — it was devastating to watch,” said Hillel executive director Whitney Fisch.
Fisch said three men came forward and accepted responsibility.
The three suspects were identified as Kevin Ladriere, 20, Eli Lauger, 20, and Santiago Arenas, 19.
