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6 men wanted for burning in swastika on playground at Ellis Elementary School in Denver

Posted at 3:40 PM, Apr 12, 2019
and last updated 2019-04-12 17:40:10-04

DENVER — Authorities released security camera images on Friday of six men wanted for a hate-related incident at Ellis Elementary School.

The men used gasoline to burn in a swastika on the school’s playground Monday night.

The six unidentified males arrived at the school, located in the 1600 block of South Dahlia Street, in an SUV around 8:43 p.m., according to a Crime Stoppers release.

At that point, one of the suspects took a gasoline canister from the vehicle and brought it to the school’s basketball court where the men then began pouring the gasoline into the shape of a swastika and ignited it, the release read.

The vandalism was reported around 8 a.m. Tuesday. Superintendent Susana Cordova informed parents of the incident in a letter.

“Hate will never be welcome in Denver Public Schools,” Cordova wrote. “Every student and every educator -- regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual identity, citizenship status, mental and physical ability status, and/or religion -- is a valued member of our DPS community.”

Police say they are working with fire investigators since the symbol was burned into the ground.

The vehicle seen in the image is a dark-colored SUV, possibly a 2002-2007 Jeep Liberty, police said. A description of the suspects was not available.

This incident came about a week after a man was arrested for allegedly spray-painting a swastika outside a Denver synagogue. The two cases do not seem to be connected.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP(7867) or text: DMCS plus your message to 274637.