Man, 34, charged in connection with hate-related graffiti incidents in Winnipeg

WARNING: This story contains an image showing a swastika.

Winnipeg police arrested a 34-year-old man on Thursday after a series of hate-related graffiti incidents in the city.

Oliver Didtger Ederhof was charged after swastikas were spray-painted on the entrance of Munson Park on Wellington Crescent, nearby Shaarey Zedek Synagogue, Kelvin High School, the Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq community centre and mosque on Ellice Avenue and several residences, police said.

"It wasn't just property that was damaged. A message was sent to a faith community, to families and to an entire city," Winnipeg police Insp. Jennifer McKinnon said during a Friday news conference.

"This arrest matters not just because the law was broken, but because our community deserves to know that actions like this will be confronted and answered with justice."

He has been charged with several mischief-related charges, said McKinnon.

There were at least four reports in the past week of potential hate-related vandalism and property damage in Winnipeg.

On Monday, McKinnon said investigators with the major crimes division were probing incidents reported two days apart.

Those incidents includes windows smashed in at Habibiz Café on Portage Avenue on Sunday. A threatening message was left calling the owners "terrorists" and telling them to get out of the country.

McKinnon said investigators are still investigating that case but say there is no connection between the two events.

Ederhof has been released with conditions.

Investigators don't yet know what motivated him, McKinnon said.

She encouraged any other Winnipeggers who have noticed hate-related graffiti on their properties to contact investigators, and if possible to supply photos before cleaning it up.

"Acts of hate have no place in our community," she said. "It will not be ignored."