SOHO, Manhattan (PIX11) — An LGBTQ Pride flag hanging outside a SoHo restaurant was set on fire early Monday, video of the incident shows.
The flag was lit aflame around 1:30 a.m. outside The Little Prince restaurant on Prince Street near MacDougal Street, police said. The FDNY extinguished the fire, which damaged the exterior of the building, according to the NYPD. No injuries were reported.
New York City Councilman Erik Bottcher tweeted a video of the suspect, who appears to be a woman. The suspect got out of the passenger side of a white SUV, lit the flag on fire, then got back into the SUV, the video shows. The SUV driver then sped away, heading west on Prince Street toward MacDougal Street, police said.
“Last night this person set fire to the Pride flag hanging outside Little Prince restaurant, causing the front of the restaurant to go up in flames. Anyone with info on this should call the Crime Stoppers tip line at 800-577-TIPS,” Bottcher said in the tweet.
The NYPD also released the video along with photos of the suspect. The department’s Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the incident.
Another Pride flag was raised outside the restaurant on Monday.
Anyone with information in regard to the car wash incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/ or on Twitter @NYPDTips.
