York Regional Police have released surveillance video of three suspects wanted for defacing Markham schools with racist graffiti.
Anti-black and anti-Semitic graffiti was found on the walls, windows and playground equipment at three schools in the area of Highway 7 and Wooten Way on Sunday.
Hate crime investigators said they believe the same suspects are responsible for each of the incidents, which likely took place either late Saturday night or early Sunday.
The video, released Wednesday, features clips of three young men — though only two can be seen together at any time. At one point, a suspect wearing a backward baseball cap appears to be holding a can of spray paint while using his cellphone as a flashlight.
Some of the graffiti, discovered on a slide at the William Armstrong Public School playground, referenced the KKK and white power and equated the Star of David with the swastika.
A parent in the neighbourhood, who spoke with Global News on Monday, said her 10-year-old son had seen the hateful messages.
WATCH: Markham community stands together after schools tagged with ‘hateful’ graffiti
“It was disgusting,” Dana Korba said. “All the kids were very upset, the parents were distraught.”
Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti also spoke out against the vandalism.
“There’s no room for racism in Markham anywhere, but I’ll tell you, these perpetrators really crossed the line when they put those symbols on the playground at schools.”
York Regional Police Chief Eric Jolliffe said in a statement Wednesday the police service would not tolerate hate crimes.
“Crimes like these are devastating to everyone who takes pride in being part of such a diverse and inclusive community,” Jolliffe said.
“I am asking our community to come together and share information that will help us find the people responsible for these crimes. I strongly encourage those responsible to seek legal advice and turn themselves in.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers anonymously.
With files from Global News and the Canadian Press