Denver
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Fifteen cars along a street in the Denver, Colorado neighborhood of Washington Park West were vandalized with anti-Semitic and racist messages and symbols on Tuesday.

White spray paint was used to tag the vehicles on their taillights, headlights, car doors, hoods, license plates, windows and sides.

Hate symbols included swastikas, a racial slur against black people and the phrase “Made in Mexico.” Some cars were simply covered in white paint.

Neighbors told FOX 31 News that the vandalism appeared to be random. They couldn’t find a reason why certain cars were defaced and others weren’t.

Police said as many as 15 vehicles had been damaged.

Residents began cleaning the graffiti off their cars but even after removing as much of the paint as possible, in many cases residue remained, leaving behind an outline of the racially charged message or symbol in their car’s finish.

“I went out for a run this morning,” Jenn Michael told FOX 31. “On the way back, that’s when I noticed all the hoods and everything were vandalized with either derogatory terms, racial slurs.”

She said that she went to check on her husband’s car and found words “all across the side” of it.

Neighbours are calling it a hate crime.

A resident wrote on Twitter that two of her car tires were also slashed.

Mike Blanton, who lives nearby, told Fox 31 that he no longer feels it is safe to park his car in the area.

“It’s almost like pick your poison. The busier street, you’re more likely to get sideswiped, and the side street is more likely to have vandalism,” he said.