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Illinois police launch hate-crime investigation into swastika vandalism on home

Authorities have asked residents in and around Elmhurst to check their home-security video systems “for suspicious people or vehicles.”

Elmhurst City Center, Ill., on July 30, 2016. Credit: Dennisyerger84 via Wikimedia Commons.
Elmhurst City Center, Ill., on July 30, 2016. Credit: Dennisyerger84 via Wikimedia Commons.

Police officers in Elmhurst, Ill., are conducting a hate-crime investigation into three swastikas that were spray-painted on two residential garage doors and a car parked in the home’s driveway.

The Elmhurst Police Department said on a Facebook post that the vandalism occurred sometime between Saturday night and Sunday morning. At approximately 9 a.m. on July 10, officers responded to the home where the three Nazi symbols were spray-painted in red.

Police added that it is unclear if the home was specifically targeted and that the victims did not see any prior suspicious activity or threats. The vandalism is being investigated as a hate crime, which is a felony in Illinois.

Authorities have asked residents in or near the neighborhood to check their home-security video systems “for suspicious people or vehicles that may have been recorded overnight.”

“The Elmhurst Police Department will use all available resources to identify the offender(s) responsible for this crime,” said officials.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Elmhurst Police Department at 630-530-3050.

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