In an apparent hate crime, an unknown suspect or suspects broke Wednesday a window of an office building that hung a Turkish flag in Dayton, Ohio. Local police have launched an investigation into the incident. The office belongs to Admiral Logistics company owned by Eldar Muratov, an Ahıska Turk who also serves as chair of a Turkish mosque association.

Dayton hosts a sizable community of Ahıska Turks, who hail from the eponymous region of Georgia. Speaking to Forum USA newspaper, Muratov said the attack "hurt them deeply" and they wanted the perpetrators to be identified as soon as possible. "There are about 1,000 Ahıska families in Dayton. We all live in peace and contribute to the local economy. American and Turkish flags have been hanging on the walls of my company for seven years. I saw the window was broken when I came to office in the morning and it worried me," he said.

Muratov added there was not a security camera monitoring the spot of attack and the police could not have fingerprints from the stone used to break the window. "I can replace the glass with a new one but this hate crime actually broke my heart," he said.