Local Law Enforcement
Around 50 cars have been smeared with what appears to be blood from a person in the Germany's city of Hanau near Frankfurt, according to law enforcement.
Cars, exterior walls and postal boxes were defaced, sometimes with prohibited symbols, they reported in a statement.
Officers state they were alerted during the night on Wednesday night, when a man discovered that a car in the Lamboy area of Hanau had been smeared with a red-colored substance.
The substance had been drawn in the pattern of a banned symbol, they reported.
Police then located many other smeared vehicles and building exteriors in the nearby vicinity.
Swastikas are illegal in Germany under regulations outlawing the public display of Nazi symbols.
Officials state preliminary tests indicate the fluid was likely blood from a person.
"Currently there is no lead as to its source; investigators are currently not informed of any harm in relation with the event," they stated.
Municipal representatives announced they were trying "to unravel the mystery" and have requested to the residents for information.
A senior representative commented the incident left him speechless and had to be resolved rapidly.
"This event affects the core of Hanau and reopens the wounds of the extremist terrorist attack five years ago," he wrote on online, recalling the killing of nine victims by a shooter targeting people of immigrant origin in February 2020.
