‘ANTISEMITIC, THREATENING’ GRAFFITI SPRAYED ON WASHAGO RESIDENCE GARAGE SATURDAY, TUESDAY

WASHAGO — Police are investigating after two incidents of “anti-Semitic” and “threatening” messages were spray-painted at a residence in Washago Saturday and again yesterday.

The Orillia detachment of the OPP) is seeking the public’s assistance to identify the suspect(s) in relation to graffiti and threatening messages they say were left on a residence in the Village of Washago.

On Saturday October 28 it was reported that the garage doors of a residence were spray painted with antisemitic messages.

On October 31, 2023, a second incident was reported at the same location with new “threatening antisemitic messages.”

The OPP Forensic Identification Unit and the OPP Hate Crime and Extremism Unit (HCEU) have been engaged and are providing support for this investigation.

The OPP says it takes hate-motivated crimes “very seriously, as they undermine public safety, negatively impact our communities and can escalate toward criminal extremism.”

Hate-motivated crimes are illegal under the Criminal Code, say the OPP, which add it is important that hate-motivated crimes and incidents are reported to the police.

“Hate-motivated crimes are illegal and unacceptable. We will not tolerate these incidents in our communities. We encourage anyone with information to come forward. All tips will be thoroughly investigated.” says Inspector Coyer Yateman, detachment commander.

The Orillia OPP request that anyone who has any information or video surveillance of either of these incidents to contact the Orillia OPP at 705-326-3536 or 1-888-310-1122 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS). Crime Stoppers does not subscribe to call display, and you will remain anonymous. Being anonymous, you will not testify in court and your information may lead to a cash reward of up to $2,000.