Toronto police have launched a hate crime investigation after antisemitic graffiti was found in a trail system in the east end of the city.
Police were called on Sunday after the graffiti was found at the Taylor Creek Trail System.
Officers investigating the antisemitic vandalism would not disclose the exact nature of the graffiti or where specifically on the trail it was discovered.
After consulting with the hate crime unit, police announced that the vandalism is being treated as a suspected hate-motivated offense, according to Global News.
“After consultation with the Service’s specialized Hate Crime Unit, the investigation is being treated as a suspected hate-motivated offence,” police said in a statement.
The hate aspect of the charge allows prosecutors to ask the judge to factor in motivation during sentencing.
A week earlier, Toronto Police Chief James Ramer said that hate-motivated crimes were increasingly “too common in our city,” especially antisemitic acts. He was commenting after Toronto’s Metropolitan United Church was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti.
Since the beginning of the year, Toronto has experienced multiple incidents of antisemitism, especially at various city schools.
Antisemitic graffiti was found at Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute high school in Scarborough last week.
In early March, similar antisemitic graffiti was found outside three schools in different areas of the city.
The incidents were being treated as “hate-motivated” and were investigated by the Toronto police’s Hate Crime Unit.
At the beginning of February, students performed a Nazi salute and depicted the swastika in front of students at the Charles H. Best Middle School, located in the Bathurst Manor neighborhood of North York, which has a significant Jewish population.
A week later, students at the Valley Park Middle School performed a Nazi salute in front of a Jewish teacher.
A similar incident occurred last week, when students at Pleasant Public School in North York performed the Hitler salute in class, this time targeting a Jewish teacher in a Grade 6 classroom.
The multiple incidents of antisemitism at Toronto schools has led to the Toronto District School Board increasing security during after school hours.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)