Swastikas Painted on Church of Melton Mowbray

Case information
Incident date
Country
United Kingdom
Place
Melton Mowbray
Categories
  • Social Hostility / Intolerance
Attack Against
  • Faith
Perpetrator / Motive Indicators
  • Anti-Religion or Humanism Groups
Hate Crime & Violent Incidents
  • Vandalism (all)
  • Vandalism of Church
Place of Incident
  • Church
Bias Indicators
  • Comments/Written Statements/Gestures/Graffiti
  • Significance of Property/Structure/Location to religious community
  • Victim/Witness Perception
Reported to Police
  • Yes
Response of Local Authorities
  • Investigated
Symbolic image; not a photograph of the reported incident.Image credit: Reginald Euler on flickr

Swastikas and a Star of David were spray - painted on the St. Mary's Church in Melton Mowbray. Police officers were looking into the vandalistic act and labeled it "religious aggravated graffiti." It came a few days before the Holocaust Memorial Day and a member of the church posted online "To desecrate a House of God seems pretty low."

The Bishop of Leicester, Rt Revd Martyn Snow, said: “The Church of England stands against all forms of antisemitism. In this week when we mark Holocaust Memorial Day we are mindful of the suffering of Jewish people and want to reiterate our support for Jewish friends and colleagues. We condemn this act of vandalism and will cooperate with the authorities as they respond to it. We offer our support to colleagues in the churches and wider community in Melton as we stand united against hatred and prejudice in all their forms.”

Sources