Several vehicles and houses, along with a church and a school, were tagged with offensive graffiti — including swastikas — in a multi-block stretch of the lower Uphill neighbhourhood on the weekend.
A Nelson Police Department officer said “unknown suspect(s) sprayed graffiti (in the area of) Carbonate Street through Mill Street and Ward Street” early Saturday morning.
“Most concerning was the type of graffiti that was found by investigators. Numerous concerned members of the community have reported the presence of swastikas, upside down crosses and offensive marks sprayed across our community,” said Sgt. Dan Markevich.
The Cathedral of Mary Immaculate church, 813 Ward St., and St. Joseph School, 523 Mill St., were among the buildings hit by the vandals.
Also, several cars and at least one house was tagged in the 600 to 800 block of Mill Street.
Garry Beaudry, who lives in the 600-block of Mill Street, was photographed by the Star late Saturday morning while scraping off an offensive tag from the windows of his wife’s Honda. He said it appeared the vandals used a black graphite-based paint that he successfully removed.
Beaudry said he called NPD and “they told us to send pictures, which we did.”
Another man, who did not want to be identified, used degreaser to remove offensive words and graffiti from his vehicles.
The NPD is urging residents in the area to check any home security video footage they may have.
The investigation continues.