York Regional Police are investigating after hateful graffiti was found at a mosque in Vaughan Sunday night.
The messages were found spray-painted on the sidewalk outside the Jaffari Islamic Centre on Bathurst Street near Rutherford Road Sunday night around 7 p.m. police said.
One of the messages read “Arab go home,” while another referred to the conflict in Gaza.
Most of the spray-paint was pressure-washed away by custodians overnight. However some worshippers were at the centre through the night for a Ramadan event.
Police say they are now investigating the incident as a hate crime and are going through surveillance footage to try and gather more information.
“We don’t know what time this actually occurred,” YRP Const. Laura Nicolle told CP24 outside the centre Monday.
Nicolle said police are asking witnesses or anyone in the neighbourhood with private surveillance images to come forward to police to help determine the timeline.
“Especially if you were walking down the sidewalk and notice there was nothing present at a given time,” Nicolle said.
In a news release Monday, York police said they are treating the incident seriously.
“York Regional Police will not tolerate hate crime in any form,” police said in the release. “These kinds of crimes not only hurt the community that has been targeted, but they hurt us all.
“We take great pride in being one of Canada’s safest and most inclusive communities and we remain vigilant in our fight against prejudice, discrimination and hate in our community.”
The Jaffari Centre houses a mosque, community centre and a school.
- With a report by CP24 Reporter Cam Woolley
@Josh_F is on Twitter. Remember for instant breaking news follow @cp24 on Twitter.
