A man police say took a knife and slashed an Israeli flag has been charged.<\/p>\n
Thirty-four-year-old Ivo Stjepovic was arraigned and released on non-monetary bond Thursday evening.<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh Police say he\u2019s the man caught on home surveillance footage back in January in the city\u2019s Mexican War Streets neighborhood.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very glad this person has been identified,\u201d Deena Blumenfeld told Channel 11. It was her flag that was cut.<\/p>\n
She says her home has been targeted nineteen times in two years. She believes it\u2019s because she\u2019s Jewish.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a good reminder of where we are as Jews and a time of pretty wide antisemitic incidents,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Stjepovic faces a misdemeanor charge of ethnic intimidation.<\/p>\n
His arrest and release came on the same day local leaders rallied around a black business owner whose body shop was vandalized last month.<\/p>\n
It was tagged with graffiti and a racial slur.<\/p>\n
PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> Slur, graffiti spray-painted onto auto body shop owned by community activist; police investigating<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve owned my business for over 33 years. During that time, my business has never been attacked,\u201d William Anderson said.<\/p>\n Anderson, who is also a community activist, says the incident came just a month after his shop was robbed.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve only made my resolve stronger,\u201d he said in a press conference on Thursday.<\/p>\n Anderson was flanked by more than a dozen leaders and organizers, including ones from the city\u2019s Latino and Jewish communities.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen something happens to one of us, it will eventually happen to all of us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n So far, no one has been arrested for either incident at the body shop.<\/p>\n Stjepovic is set to be back in front of a judge on February 24th.<\/p>\n Download the FREE WPXI News app<\/a> for breaking news alerts.<\/p>\n Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook<\/a> and Twitter<\/a>. | Watch WPXI NOW<\/a><\/p>\n