A swastika was drawn in a hallways near the office of a Jewish employee of an Atlanta, Georgia autism center.
The Emory Autism Center was also burglarized and other vandalism, including racial slurs written in the hallways and on vending machines, occurred. As well, a glass door was shattered with a large rock that was still there when the crime scene was investigated, reported Channel 2 Atlanta.
The racial slurs were written along the walls near workspaces used by two African American women.
The vandalism was discovered by Emory Autism Center employees at the beginning of last week.
According to former Dekalb Country, George District Attorney Robert James, the crime at the Emory Autism Center, located at Emory University, would likely meet the requirements for the state’s new hate crime legislation.
“I believe this is why [the hate crime statute] was drafted and passed in the first place, to address conduct like this,” he told Channel 2.
The center is currently working with police who are investigating the incident.
Emory University said in an email statement: “These acts of racism and anti-Semitism are painful for all of us at the [Emory Autism Center] and in the Emory community. They will not be tolerated, and every effort will be made to bring the perpetrators to justice.”
There has been a noticeable uptick in anti-Semitic and hate graffiti across the US recently that has also hit Atlanta.
In late July, anti-Semitic graffiti was discovered on a busy bridge serving the Atlanta area, including several of the city’s large suburbs.