Antisemitic graffiti has been appearing at UC Berkeley housing complex
"Hateful" messages have been "plastered in and around the University Village student-family housing complex" in Albany, officials said this week.
Police in Albany are investigating multiple incidents of antisemitic graffiti in recent weeks, including at UC Berkeley's University Village family housing complex.
So far, authorities have declined to release specifics about the investigation, such as when the graffiti began to appear, what the messages said or how many confirmed incidents there had been.
But, on Tuesday night, an Albany city spokesman confirmed there had been "multiple vandalisms involving hateful graffiti specifically targeted against the Jewish community at UC Village and in Albany."
"Each is being documented and investigated by the Albany Police Department and once located, immediately removed by the Albany Police Department and Public Works Department," city spokesman Brennen Brown said, "because Albany doesn't tolerate hate."
Scanner readers asked TBS for details about the graffiti after Albany Mayor Robin Lopez issued a statement about it Monday.
In his message, Lopez wrote that the graffiti had been "plastered in and around the University Village student-family housing complex" and "exposed many children to deplorable and violent statements."
Lopez also wrote that he had been working closely with city and UC staff to push for speedy cleanup of the messages.
"Simply removing hateful graffiti of any kind does not solve the problem," he said. "We take this issue, and the escalating nature of the violent rhetoric seriously, as our police department is actively investigating all reported cases. I unequivocally would like to see that justice is pursued for the destruction of city property and I fully denounce this disgustingly vile attempt to normalize hate as an acceptable form of public expression. It’s not acceptable and will not be tolerated."
"We take this issue, and the escalating nature of the violent rhetoric seriously."
On Tuesday at 3 p.m., UC Berkeley issued its own statement to University Village residents urging them to report any new incidents of graffiti to police and other campus resources.
"We are providing support to members of our community who’ve felt impacted by this recent graffiti, we’ve reported it to the Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination, and removed the graffiti on our premises that we’re aware of," UC officials said.
Authorities ask community members to report any new graffiti on UC Berkeley property to UCPD at 510-642-6760, and in the broader Albany community to the Albany Police Department at 510-525-7300.
The Albany Police Department is following up on "all leads" in the investigation, the Albany city spokesman said.
