Police are investigating two incidents of hate crime after a swastika was found on the wall of a public school in Aurora and anti-Muslim messages were spray-painted outside an Islamic centre north of Toronto.
The incidents are not believed to be related.
In the first incident, York Regional Police were called to Highview Public School at noon Monday. The school is located in the Bathurst Street and Henderson Drive area. Police say a variety of graffiti symbols and messages, including a swastika, were written on the wall of the school using chalk.
Police say they were likely done between July 14 and July 16, however they were only reported Monday. The graffiti has since been washed off.
Police say they have contacted the hate crime unit, but cannot confirm the motive behind the graffiti until the suspects have been located. Investigators say there are no suspects at this time, and they are reviewing security footage.
Jaffari Community Centre
York Regional Police are also investigating another incident after someone spray-painted anti-Muslim graffiti outside an Islamic centre north of Toronto on Sunday night.
Police were called to Thornhill's Jaffari Community Centre at 9000 Bathurst St., near Rutherford Road, shortly after 7 p.m.
They were called to the centre when a worshipper found graffiti messages that authorities said were in relation to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
One of the messages read "F--k Gaza," and another read "Arab go home." Police have called the vandalism a hate crime.
Most of the messages were washed away by morning, but many members of the mosque housed at Jaffari saw them before they were removed, since worshippers were at the centre late into the night for a Ramadan event.
"Naturally everyone is pretty shocked and hurt," said spokesperson Shabbir Jaffer. "It was even all the more disturbing that it would happen on such a holy night for us."
Police said they're investigating the incident and reviewing surveillance footage from the area.
They're asking anyone with more information to contact police at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 7441, or call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).
They're looking for details on a suspect or suspects, and any surveillance footage that may have been captured by homeowners with surveillance cameras.
Police aren't sure what time the actual vandalism was performed, and are looking for people who were in the area Sunday evening to report what they saw to help establish a timeline.
In addition to the Jaffari Community Centre, the property houses a mosque and a school.
