By Geeta Goindi
October 4, 2026 – A Hindu temple in the Greater Cleveland area was attacked Friday afternoon, shattering windows while priests and devotees were inside and prompting community organizations to call for an investigation into a possible hate crime.
The incident occurred around 1:30 p.m. on October 2 at the Shree Swaminarayan Vadtal Dham Hindu Mandir in Richmond Heights, Ohio, according to the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) and the Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA).
Bricks were thrown at the building, breaking several windows and scattering glass inside. No injuries have been reported.
HAF said surveillance footage of the incident is being reviewed by authorities and that the organization is alerting the FBI and federal civil rights authorities.
No suspect has been publicly identified and investigators have not announced a motive.
“This possible hate crime comes at a time of unprecedented hate & vitriol directed at the Hindu American community, and we ask that law enforcement make apprehending the perpetrator(s) a top priority,” HAF said.
The organization also called on elected leaders and government agencies to “publicly and unequivocally condemn hateful rhetoric against Indian and Hindu American communities.”
HAF Executive Director Suhag Shukla warned that hostility expressed online was spilling into the physical world.
“This is real now. Online hate has morphed into a real world attack on a Hindu temple,” she said, urging authorities to review the video and identify those responsible.
CoHNA also condemned the incident and called on Richmond Heights Mayor Kim Thomas and local authorities to respond publicly and take swift action.
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The attack came at the beginning of Hindu Heritage Month in Ohio and ahead of Navratri celebrations, adding to concerns over the safety of places of worship.
It also follows a series of incidents involving Hindu temples across the United States in recent years, although authorities have not established any connection between the cases.
In September 2024, BAPS temples in Melville, New York, and the Sacramento area were vandalized within days of each other. The Sacramento-area temple was defaced with anti-Hindu messages and its water lines were cut. In March 2025, the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Chino Hills, California, was vandalized with anti-Hindu and anti-India graffiti. The three incidents were investigated as possible hate crimes.
In June 2025, the Shri Shri Radha Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork, Utah, was struck by gunfire on multiple occasions, with bullet holes found in the building, including through a window of the worship room.
The Richmond Heights incident occurred on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, whose philosophy of nonviolence inspired civil rights movements around the world.
For the priests and devotees inside the Ohio temple Friday afternoon, the violence was immediate: bricks struck their place of worship, windows shattered and glass fell inside the building.
The investigation is continuing.
