Swastika graffiti was found emblazoned on a sidewalk in Scottsdale, Ariz. on Oct 13, local news station Arizona’s Family reports.
Scottsdale resident Russell Berry told AZFamily that he found the swastika next to a bench while taking a walk on the morning of Oct. 13.
“Somebody had to actually make a stencil to use to paint the thing on the sidewalk,” Berry said. “Somebody had to put some effort into it. It wasn’t like somebody just walked up there with a spray can.”
After finding a #swastika in an upscale #Scottsdale AZ community, Police state they're not sure if the incident is a #hatecrime!
Hey @scottsdaleazgov – until there are more punishments for #antisemitism, this epidemic WILL.NOT.STOP.More here: https://t.co/gsquPeHNCL pic.twitter.com/cPVrbYBa0w
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) October 18, 2019
The city removed the swastika on Oct. 17. Currently, police don’t have any leads on the matter; they told AZFamily that it will be determined if the graffiti is a hate crime during the “sentencing phase if someone were ever to be convicted of” being behind the vandalism.
In December, there were six swastikas found over 10 days during Hanukkah in Scottsdale, Phoenix, Surprise and Chandler. Anti-Defamation League Arizona Regional Director Carlos Galindo-Elvira told Fox 10, “It’s so offensive not only to Holocaust survivors, but their family members. It invokes terrible memories during a horrific period of our world history where Nazis murdered Jews and others, so we never want to normalize the use of a swastika.”
