Shots Fired at KZV School in San Francisco

Less than a month after being vandalized with pro-Azerbaijani graffiti, San Francisco’s Krouzian-Zekarian Vasbouragan Armenian school was again target of a pattern of hate crimes, when the local police reported that shots were fired at the school building over the weekend.

San Francisco police officers were patrolling the KZV Armenian School at around 2:25 a.m. Saturday morning when someone fired a bullet that damaged the school’s sign. No one was injured by the gunfire.

The officers were assigned to guard the Krouzian-Zekarian Vasbouragan Armenian school after the campus was tagged with anti-Armenian graffiti in July and the building adjacent to the St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Church was set ablaze  on Thursday. An arson investigation is underway.

The officers immediately searched for the source of the gunshots, but no suspects were located. During the search, officers located a damaged sign in front of the school, which appeared to be caused by a bullet, but no injuries were reported.

In a statement, the San Francisco Police Department said it had “taken steps to increase the safety and security of the community.”

“We are more determined,” said Haig Baghdassarian of the Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region. “We’ve gotten anecdotal reports of individual community members having received threats—Armenian-owned businesses and individuals.”

“However, we ask that the community remain alert and report anything suspicious to the police,” the department said. “Investigators are actively working to identify those responsible for the crimes and to place them under arrest.”

Police said the officers who heard the gunshots near the school Saturday “immediately searched for the source of the gunshots, but no suspects were located.”

On Monday, a spokesperson for the FBI in San Francisco said the agency was aware of the incidents and in“regular contact with local authorities.”

“Should information come to light of a potential federal violation, the FBI is prepared to investigate,” the agency said.

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