Liquor Store Incidents Considered Hate Crimes

Two liquor stores were trashed by about a dozen men wearing suits and bow ties, police said.

The men swept dozens of bottles off shelves, knocked over racks of food and smashed refrigerator doors with metal pipes.

Police have added extra patrols in the area to try to protect other stores, most of which are located in predominantly black neighborhoods, said Deputy Chief Howard Jordan.

Investigators are looking into the incidents as hate crimes because most of the businesses are owned by Arabs or Arab Americans, and the perpetrators told owners not to sell liquor to black people, Jordan said.