Albuquerque –
Rex Crofton, 25, is facing multiple felony charges after a criminal complaint says he targeted an Albuquerque synagogue and a nearby Jewish community center in separate incidents on June 2, causing tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages and prompting a federal and local investigation.
According to the criminal complaint, the first incident was reported shortly after 4:30 PM at Congregation Albert Synagogue, located in the 300 block of Louisiana Blvd NE.
A 911 caller initially reported that an unknown man had fired several rounds at the building after the synagogue’s front glass doors were found shattered.
Fear began to spread as both the Synagogue and the Jewish Community Center, which was struck shortly after the Synagogue, believed the sound of shattering glass was an active shooter incident.
Responding APD officers found extensive glass damage at the entrance. Witnesses told investigators they had heard sounds resembling gunfire and saw a man fleeing to a silver sports car before driving away. Officers later discovered that the damage did not seem to have been caused by gunfire. The investigators found no shell casings, bullet impacts, or any other evidence suggesting that a firearm had been discharged.
Synagogue staff estimated repairs to the bullet-resistant glass entrance could cost between $100,000 and $200,000.
A crime scene specialist documented the damage, and officers sought access to surveillance footage. Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation also responded.
About 10 minutes later, a second incident was reported at the Jewish Community Center in the 5500 block of Wyoming Blvd NE. Witnesses reported that a man armed with an ax, hatchet, or sledgehammer attacked the facility’s front glass doors and then fled in a silver Mazda RX-8.
Surveillance video reviewed by APD officers showed a silver Mazda entering the property at a high rate of speed and stopping near the main entrance. The complaint says that a man exited the vehicle carrying an object and ran toward the building, where he repeatedly struck the glass doors.
Multiple witnesses described the suspect as a white male in his late teens to 30s, with long dark, curly hair, scruffy facial hair, and wearing a gray tank top. As he returned to his vehicle, security personnel pursued him and he drove away.
The complaint states the estimated damage at the Jewish Community Center was approximately $40,000.
Investigators later linked the incidents through witness statements, surveillance footage and license plate reader data. The criminal complaint details that a silver Mazda RX-8 matching witness descriptions was captured by an automatic license plate reader minutes before the attacks. The complaint says the Mazda was associated with a man identified by police as Rex Crofton.
Detectives reviewed video evidence and compared images from the footage with the suspect’s driver’s license and prior booking photographs. Court documents say investigators believed the individual in the videos matched the suspect and that visible tattoos were consistent with law enforcement records.
Crofton has been charged with two counts of felony criminal damage to property, desecration of a church, a hate crime enhancement and disorderly conduct. The FBI assisted in the investigation, and the criminal complaint advises that the case will be forwarded to federal authorities for review because it involved Jewish religious institutions.
He was booked into MDC on Wednesday, June 3rd. Federal charges have not been filed but the crime has met the threshold.
We reached out to the US Attorney for the District of New Mexico to find out about federal charges. We were advised that they couldn’t comment on potential federal charges and should continue monitoring federal court filings and press releases in the coming days.
A criminal complaint is only an allegation and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law, with the burden of proof resting on the prosecution.
Discover more from ABQ RAW
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
[…] Jewish Centers Attacked by Deranged Man; State Charges Filed, Federal Charges Possibly Pending […]