Police are investigating a possible link between anti-Semitic graffiti at an Auckland cemetery and the destructive vandalism of a nearby home.
A Grey Lynn house was broken into and vandalised with anti-Semitic obscenities, including Nazi swastikas, shortly after an attack on 20 Jewish graves at the cemetery on Karangahape Road last week.
One of the three men accused of the attack on Jewish headstones appeared in court today on an unrelated matter.
-
Related
Nathan Symington, 23, was remanded on bail at the Auckland District Court and will appear in court tomorrow charged with wilful damage.
Two other men, aged 19 and 20, are also due to appear in court over the attack, in which 20 graves were grafitied with anti-Semitic obscenities, including Nazi swastikas, at the historic cemetery on Karangahape Road.
Police believe there may be a link between the two attacks that both happened on the same night.
Steve Saussey said he was preparing to move back into his house, which was being renovated, when his builder alerted him to the attack.
"The real icing on the cake is the nazi imagery ," Saussey told ONE News.
Saussey did not know why his home was targeted, but was suspicious the symbols were similar to those painted on the Jewish headstones at the cemetery nearby.
He believed the vandals got into the house by levering open a window.
Once inside, the intruders spent time in the house kicking down walls, painting Nazi symbols on windows and splashing paint around.
"There's been a weird attempt to paint the windows out the front so no one would see what's going on," he told the Herald.
"They've left a really good hand-print on the window. The police are very interested because of the cemetery thing and have been in fingerprinting."
Police have not ruled out further arrests as investigations continue.