BREAKING:

Nazi graffiti, including a swastika and Aryan Nation symbology, have been spraypainted on buildings on Prospect, including the African-American co-op house.

Berkeley Police Sgt. Steve Odom said someone spray-painted a swastika and a symbol for the racist prison group Aryan Nation -- a cross inside a circle -- on a housing sign outside the African American Theme House, a Berkeley student cooperative association residence on the 2300 block of Prospect Street.

Earlier, police were called to investigate similar graffiti spray-painted on a garage door on the 2400 block of Prospect. In that case, the house is occupied by a white family, who had no idea why they were singled out, Odom said.

I live on 2422 Prospect, about two houses away. It's always nice to turn on the TV at home and see your street on the News.

Everyone in the African-American house is pissed, but few clues as to who did the spraypainting. If found, whoever did it will be prosecuted.

Odom said the spray painting definitely is a hate crime and the perpetrator will be prosecuted. This goes far beyond a fraternity prank, he said. Both incidents apparently occurred shortly before 2 a.m. Tuesday.

Interesting how precisely the spray painting is timed. That might indicate that police have some idea who was in the area at the time or someone might've seen something. Prospect is a very quiet street anyway, and it's even more so around Winter Break.

Also, whoever did this did their homework. The African-American house is not something a bunch of skinheads would stumble upon. It's fairly out of the way, up by the stadium, where few people go. To know about it either means someone went looking online for prominent African-American targets in Berkeley, or knows the area.

Hateful stuff.
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