TORONTO -- Vandalism targeting the Asian community has been found on a downtown building for the second time this week and police say they believe both incidents are linked.
The first incident was reported near Gerrard and Ontario streets on Tuesday.
Police have said that that they discovered vandalism on the side of a building in the area that contained racial slurs directed against the Asian community.
Police deemed the incident a hate crime and investigators with the Hate Crime Unit began an investigation.
Then on Thursday, police were made aware of a similar incident, this time in the Church and Gould streets area on the campus of Ryerson University.
Police say that similar vandalism was discovered on a concrete pillar attached to a building in that area that again included racial slurs against the Asian community.
“Investigators believe these incidents are linked and both are being investigated as Hate Crimes. The Service's specialized Hate Crime Unit continues to assist with both investigations,” police said in a news release issued Friday.
Mayor John Tory previously spoke out about the vandalism in the Gerrard and Ontario streets area earlier this week, telling CP24 that it was unacceptable.
Tory also held a roundtable on Thursday with councillors Denzil Minnan-Wong, Cynthia Lai, and Kristyn Wong-Tam, Toronto police Chief James Ramer and Deputy Chief Peter Yuen, and leaders from the East Asian community to discuss how to combat a "disturbing surge" in hate crimes targeting the Asian community in recent months.
“This not what our Toronto is about,” Tory said earlier this week.
