A vandal scratched a swastika Saturday on a student’s car in what University Police have labeled a hate crime.

A Northwestern employee reported the property damage to police Saturday before 2 p.m. The car was parked in the lot adjacent to Searle Hall, 633 Emerson St. Officers responded to the scene and saw a swastika about 8 inches in length and width scratched onto the car’s passenger door, UP Deputy Chief Dan McAleer said. Police said they found flakes of paint near the car, indicating the damage was recent.

Police contacted the registered owner of the car, who confirmed that her daughter, an NU undergraduate student, was using it. The student parked the car in the lot at about 10:15 a.m.  and did not notice vandalism before then. Witnesses reported seeing damage to the car as early as 10:30 a.m., police said.

The student is Jewish, McAleer said. She doesn’t know who might have perpetrated the crime.

The department’s evidence technician was unable to identify fingerprints on the car’s exterior, McAleer said.

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