Dartmouth College Menorah Shooting Being Investigated as Possible Hate Crime

The Hanover Police Department is investigating the shooting of Dartmouth College’s menorah as a possible hate crime, according to NBC 5.

At approximately 8 PM on Tuesday, December 15th, an individual shot out seven of the nine lights on the menorah with what is believed to have been a pellet or BB gun.

According to Detective Michael Benson, one witness has stated that, “They observed two white males who appear to be high school-aged and one of them was carrying a BB gun or a pellet gun and they were shooting it at the menorah and damaged one of the lights.” Reportedly, the witness also told police that the two walked north on Main Street and continued shooting at random objects. None of which, according to police, contained any religious significance.

Police have obtained surveillance video from the Hanover Inn that depicts the two possibly involved.

At this time, police are investigating the shooting as a possible hate crime. They state, “Hate crimes affect the community in a big way and we’re investigating this as a hate crime based off the fact that the menorah on the Dartmouth Green was shot and we are giving all of our information to the Attorney General Office’s Civil Rights unit.”