The hate crime unit of Hamilton police is investigating after one or possibly two swastikas were spray-painted on a sidewalk and road in Greensville, north of Dundas.
At least two residents in the neighbourhood called the city about the graffiti, that invokes the symbol that marked the national flag of Hitler’s Nazi Germany.
Police arrived to investigate at 7:15 a.m. on Tuesday morning. An officer in the Mountain division told The Spectator “no suspects have been identified yet” in the incident.
A white swastika was painted on a sidewalk along Harvest Road, near where it meets Brock Road, a two minute drive from Highway 5.
Resident David Arbuckle contacted the city through the graffiti reporting hotline and also his local councillor at about 8 p.m. on Monday night.
Arbuckle and his wife had been walking their dog that evening when they spotted it, about five minutes from their home.
“I was shocked and disgusted that someone took the opportunity to purposefully and deliberately spread hate messaging in our community,” he said in an email to The Spectator.
Arbuckle said he’s aware of occasional incidences of graffiti in Greensville, but has not heard of cases where it was “targeted toward specific groups.”
About six million Jews were murdered by the Nazis in the Holocaust.
A second white swastika, meanwhile, was reported by another resident, painted directly on Harvest Road. From photographs taken by The Spectator, it appears that it has since been scribbled over with green paint.
Kristin Glasbergen, who saw both swastikas, told The Spec it’s shocking to see that type of graffiti in her neighbourhood.
“We have an open-minded community, so you assume it’s not someone from Greensville, but who knows,” she said. “I was pretty grossed-out when I saw it.”
A Greensville man called the incident “shameful” in a post on a private neighbourhood Facebook page, adding that “as one of the small handful of Jewish families in town, I’m absolutely disgusted.”
Hamilton police report that they received 92 reports of suspected hate/bias incidents and criminal offences in 2019.
The High Holidays of the Jewish faith, that begin at this time of year with Rosh Hashanah, has in the past coincided with a spike in anti-Semitic incidents.
Jon Wells is a Hamilton-based reporter and feature writer for The Spectator. Reach him via email: jwells@thespec.com
The hate crime unit of Hamilton police is investigating after one or possibly two swastikas were spray-painted on a sidewalk and road in Greensville, north of Dundas.
At least two residents in the neighbourhood called the city about the graffiti, that invokes the symbol that marked the national flag of Hitler’s Nazi Germany.
Police arrived to investigate at 7:15 a.m. on Tuesday morning. An officer in the Mountain division told The Spectator “no suspects have been identified yet” in the incident.
A white swastika was painted on a sidewalk along Harvest Road, near where it meets Brock Road, a two minute drive from Highway 5.
Resident David Arbuckle contacted the city through the graffiti reporting hotline and also his local councillor at about 8 p.m. on Monday night.
Arbuckle and his wife had been walking their dog that evening when they spotted it, about five minutes from their home.
“I was shocked and disgusted that someone took the opportunity to purposefully and deliberately spread hate messaging in our community,” he said in an email to The Spectator.
Arbuckle said he’s aware of occasional incidences of graffiti in Greensville, but has not heard of cases where it was “targeted toward specific groups.”
About six million Jews were murdered by the Nazis in the Holocaust.
A second white swastika, meanwhile, was reported by another resident, painted directly on Harvest Road. From photographs taken by The Spectator, it appears that it has since been scribbled over with green paint.
Kristin Glasbergen, who saw both swastikas, told The Spec it’s shocking to see that type of graffiti in her neighbourhood.
“We have an open-minded community, so you assume it’s not someone from Greensville, but who knows,” she said. “I was pretty grossed-out when I saw it.”
A Greensville man called the incident “shameful” in a post on a private neighbourhood Facebook page, adding that “as one of the small handful of Jewish families in town, I’m absolutely disgusted.”
Hamilton police report that they received 92 reports of suspected hate/bias incidents and criminal offences in 2019.
The High Holidays of the Jewish faith, that begin at this time of year with Rosh Hashanah, has in the past coincided with a spike in anti-Semitic incidents.
Jon Wells is a Hamilton-based reporter and feature writer for The Spectator. Reach him via email: jwells@thespec.com
The hate crime unit of Hamilton police is investigating after one or possibly two swastikas were spray-painted on a sidewalk and road in Greensville, north of Dundas.
At least two residents in the neighbourhood called the city about the graffiti, that invokes the symbol that marked the national flag of Hitler’s Nazi Germany.
Police arrived to investigate at 7:15 a.m. on Tuesday morning. An officer in the Mountain division told The Spectator “no suspects have been identified yet” in the incident.
A white swastika was painted on a sidewalk along Harvest Road, near where it meets Brock Road, a two minute drive from Highway 5.
Resident David Arbuckle contacted the city through the graffiti reporting hotline and also his local councillor at about 8 p.m. on Monday night.
Arbuckle and his wife had been walking their dog that evening when they spotted it, about five minutes from their home.
“I was shocked and disgusted that someone took the opportunity to purposefully and deliberately spread hate messaging in our community,” he said in an email to The Spectator.
Arbuckle said he’s aware of occasional incidences of graffiti in Greensville, but has not heard of cases where it was “targeted toward specific groups.”
About six million Jews were murdered by the Nazis in the Holocaust.
A second white swastika, meanwhile, was reported by another resident, painted directly on Harvest Road. From photographs taken by The Spectator, it appears that it has since been scribbled over with green paint.
Kristin Glasbergen, who saw both swastikas, told The Spec it’s shocking to see that type of graffiti in her neighbourhood.
“We have an open-minded community, so you assume it’s not someone from Greensville, but who knows,” she said. “I was pretty grossed-out when I saw it.”
A Greensville man called the incident “shameful” in a post on a private neighbourhood Facebook page, adding that “as one of the small handful of Jewish families in town, I’m absolutely disgusted.”
Hamilton police report that they received 92 reports of suspected hate/bias incidents and criminal offences in 2019.
The High Holidays of the Jewish faith, that begin at this time of year with Rosh Hashanah, has in the past coincided with a spike in anti-Semitic incidents.
Jon Wells is a Hamilton-based reporter and feature writer for The Spectator. Reach him via email: jwells@thespec.com