Sunland : Swastikas Painted on Mormon Church

Vandals spray-painted swastikas and white supremacist slogans on the wall of a Mormon church, causing an estimated $500 damage, authorities said Thursday.

Sometime between 8 a.m. and noon Wednesday, vandals painted the phrase “white power,” and swastikas on several outside walls of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the 7900 block of Hillrose Street in Sunland, said Los Angeles Police Detective Ray Broker.

It is unclear why a Mormon church, an unlikely target for racially directed graffiti vandalism, was chosen, Broker said. Church officials had the graffiti removed later in the day.

“I think we’re dealing with some confused individuals because there’s no reason to target that particular church,” Broker said. “They probably thought they were hitting another church to spew out their hate.”

No one from the church could be reached for comment.

The Verdugo Hills Hebrew Center in Tujunga was the target of a hate crime in October, 1991, when vandals, who did about $100 damage, printed the words, “Have a Nazi Day,” on the north and east sides of the synagogue. A happy face was drawn on one arm of the swastikas.

Broker said that between eight and 12 hate crimes are reported every three months in the six communities within the Foothill Division’s patrol area.

Hate-inspired graffiti vandalism most often appears as swastikas or other slogans or icons painted on mailboxes and smaller targets, Broker said.

In October, a 29-year-old Glendale man suspected of stamping the message, “Earth’s most endangered species: the white race, preserve it,” was arrested in a Covina supermarket. Similar messages were found on notebooks at Thrifty Drug Store and Target, also in Covina, and at K mart stores in Burbank and Sunland.

Police have no suspects in the latest incident in Sunland, Broker said.