A couple of swastikas were found burned into a lawn in a San Dimas home on April 4.
Tammy Ferris, a resident at the home, told KTLA that her son first discovered it that morning.
“How horrible that someone would come and ruin people’s property, for what?” Ferris said.
Another resident at the home, Ted Ferris, told The Los Angeles Times that his family isn’t Jewish and he had never seen that kind of hate in the community. He added that it would likely cost $6,000 to fix the damage caused to his lawn, which consisted of synthetic turf.
Later in the day, two more swastikas were found burned into the roadway a block away from the Ferris home; the city estimates that it would cost $5,000 to repair the damage, according to KTLA. Police believe the two instances of vandalism are related.
Sgt. Pete Shupe from the San Dimas station told the Times that the swastikas were probably the result of teenagers “being little jerks.” It is currently not being investigated as a hate crime because Jews weren’t specifically targeted.
The Anti-Defamation League’s Los Angeles chapter tweeted:
Even if the swastika wasn't intended to be anti-Semitic here, it's still an alarming symbol of hate, aggravated by methods used to commit this disturbing vandalism. @ADL stats have shown a troubling rise in anti-Semitic incidents. https://t.co/62734rgqWC, https://t.co/EVqb4jCO5L
— ADL Southern California (@ADLSoCal) April 5, 2019
Anyone with information about the vandalisms is encouraged to contact the San Dimas police station at 909-450-2700.
