York Regional Police say they’re looking for a suspect after several acts of suspected hate-motivated vandalism were reported in a neighborhood north of Toronto that is home to a large Jewish community.
Police say they’re investigating seven instances of graffiti involving businesses and a synagogue that were spray painted with anti-Semitic messages in Thornhill, a neighborhood that includes parts of Vaughan and Markham.
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They say officers learned that between 12 a.m. and 1 a.m. on Monday, a suspect spray painted the properties while wearing a Halloween-style mask.
Police say investigators from their hate crime unit suspect the vandalism is hate-motivated.
Investigators say they’re looking for witnesses and are asking anyone with information to come forward.
In Toronto, hate-motivated crimes have been on the rise, with police previously saying that hate crimes in the city are up nearly 55 per cent from last year.