Local Law Enforcement
Around fifty vehicles have been covered with what seems to be human blood in the German municipality of Hanau near Frankfurt, police confirm police.
Cars, exterior walls and postal boxes were vandalized, sometimes with swastikas, they announced in a statement.
Police say they were notified late on Wednesday night, when a resident noticed that a vehicle in the Lamboy district of Hanau had been smeared with a reddish fluid.
The fluid had been placed in the shape of a swastika, they added.
Police then discovered numerous other marked automobiles and residential walls in the adjacent neighborhood.
These symbols are prohibited in Germany under legislation outlawing the public display of symbols from the Nazi era.
Police report initial examinations suggest the substance was probably human blood.
"Currently there is no indication as to its source; authorities are not yet cognizant of any injuries in association with the incident," they commented.
City officials said they were working "to resolve the mystery" and have asked to the public for tips.
A high-ranking representative said the incident rendered him speechless and required to be addressed promptly.
"This event affects the core of Hanau and revives the trauma of the right-wing violent incident in 2020," he stated on social media, mentioning the killing of nine people by a gunman targeting residents of foreign heritage in five years prior.
