MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Police are searching for the person or people responsible for scrawling swastikas on two signs in front of a hotel in the heart of South Beach’s Art Deco district.
7News cameras captured Miami Beach Police officers cutting down the defaced signs on fencing located on Collins Avenue across from the Raleigh Hotel, near 18th Street, Friday evening.
.@MiamiBeachPD were on Collins and 18th Street cutting down signs marked up with swastikas. We watched these officers take down two signs around 6PM on fencing outside the Raleigh Hotel. @wsvn #7News #Exclusive pic.twitter.com/LFOKZxVqb4
— Sheldon Fox-7 News (@fox_sheldon) July 26, 2019
Investigators said they were made aware of the anti-Semitic symbols at around 5:30 p.m.
Officers responded to the scene shortly after and removed the signs.
Cameras captured police officers as they took down the signs, folded them and put them in the trunk of a marked SUV cruiser.
The signs were gone from in front of the hotel, which is undergoing renovations, before 6:30 p.m.
Passersby said they were shocked by the venomous and offensive vandalism.
“Uncalled for. Not here, man,” said a man. “You know, in this city, you’re here to have fun, man. You’re not here for that hatred, you know?”
“You think that stuff is over with. It’s tough, it really was,” said a woman.
Police continue to investigate.
“Right now, in this day and age, it’s too much right now, man. It’s gotta get over with,” said the man who spoke with 7News.
If you have any information on this act of vandalism, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $1,000 reward.
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