Local Law Enforcement
Approximately 50 cars have been marked with what appears to be blood from a person in the German municipality of Hanau near Frankfurt, as reported by authorities.
Vehicles, exterior walls and mailboxes were marked, occasionally with prohibited symbols, they reported in a official communication.
Officers report they were notified late on Wednesday, when a man observed that a car in the Lamboy neighborhood of Hanau had been smeared with a red-colored liquid.
The substance had been applied in the pattern of a swastika, they added.
Officers then found numerous other marked vehicles and building exteriors in the nearby vicinity.
Swastikas are prohibited in Germany under legislation outlawing the public display of Nazi-era symbols.
Law enforcement say preliminary tests indicate the liquid was likely blood from a person.
"Currently there is no indication as to where it came from; authorities are not yet cognizant of any harm in relation with the occurrence," they stated.
Municipal representatives said they were trying "to solve the case" and have asked to the public for tips.
A senior official said the vandalism made him stunned and had to be resolved rapidly.
"This incident strikes at the center of Hanau and revives the trauma of the right-wing violent incident five years ago," he wrote on online, recalling the killing of nine people by a shooter focusing on individuals of migrant background in 2020.
