Swastika found at former Jackson school as police probe series of bias crimes

☑️A swastika and racist messages were found inside a former Jackson middle School

☑️ Video shows 7 adults and juveniles after breaking into the vacant Jackson school

☑️Another Jewish organization's building was also vandalized

JACKSON — A swastika and other racist slurs were left on a chalkboard at the former Christa McAuliffe Middle School, the latest in a series of property hate crimes targeting a local Jewish organization.

As many as seven adults and juveniles broke into the school on Thursday night, according to The Lakewood Scoop. A photo shows a swastika,  "heil Hilter" and the N-word written on a chalkboard.  The group also caused other unspecified property damage, according to the report.

Video posted by the Scoop shows the group, most wearing hoodies, walking in the hallway of the former school.  Several are wearing masks.

In three separate incidents, windows were damaged at the Chai Lifeline facility located on County Line Road, according to Police Chief Mary Nelson. The organization says it supports over 750 families impacted by pediatric illness.

"Due to the repeated nature of these offenses targeting a Jewish faith-based organization, these incidents are being investigated as bias crimes," Nelson said.

Nelson said that suspects have been identified in the school incident but did not disclose their ages or whether the two incidents are connected. She promised they would be prosecuted to the fullest extent allowed by law.

"To further enhance public safety and reassure our residents, the Jackson Township Police Department has increased patrols in areas of concern and around sensitive locations throughout the township. Our goal is to ensure that every resident, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or background, feels safe to live, worship, learn, and practice their beliefs without fear of intimidation or violence," Nelson said.

Assemblyman Avi Schnall, R-Ocean, told The Scoop that drawing a swastika inside a Jewish-owned building is an "unmistakable message of intimidation."  He also said that it should lead to a discussion about the "increasing hostile political climate" for Orthodox Jewish residents in Jackson and other communities.

"Hate does not begin with broken windows and spray paint. It begins when a community is repeatedly portrayed as a problem to be contained, a threat to be feared or an easy target for political resentment," Schnall said.

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Group alleged to have broken into the former Christa McAuliffe Middle School in Jackson Thurs., July 30, 2026

Former Christa McAuliffe Middle School was recently sold

The school on Hope Chapel Road was named after the astronaut who died in the explosion of the Challenger space shuttle in 1986. It was put up for sale by the Jackson school district to close a budget gap.

The school was purchased for $40 million in December by Lakewood-based Beth Medrash Govoha, which is the largest yeshiva or Orthodox Jewish seminary in the country.

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