Vandals have spray painted swastikas on buildings, bus shelters and road signs in the city of Côte Saint-Luc, a suburb of Montreal with a large Jewish population.

It’s part of an increase in the number of anti-Semitic incidents in the area this year, police said Friday.

In a typical summer, two or three swastikas have to be removed, police said. This year, there have been 14 incidents of anti-Semitic graffiti already, said police Cmdr. Sylvain Bissonette.

“Here in Côte Saint-Luc, you’ve got the largest group of survivors of the Holocaust that is living in North America,” Bissonette said.

“This not just a thing that happens that we see in films, but it is a reality,” he said.

Bissonette said the swastikas were quickly erased by city workers Friday. He is asking for the public to help in identifying the vandals.

(Source: CBC)