Local Law Enforcement
Roughly 50 vehicles have been smeared with what appears to be human blood in the German municipality of Hanau near Frankfurt, according to authorities.
Cars, exterior walls and postboxes were defaced, in some cases with prohibited symbols, they stated in a statement.
Police report they were notified late on Wednesday, when a resident noticed that a car in the Lamboy neighborhood of Hanau had been covered with a reddish substance.
The fluid had been drawn in the form of a swastika, they added.
Law enforcement then found numerous other smeared cars and residential walls in the adjacent neighborhood.
Swastikas are banned in Germany under laws prohibiting the public display of Nazi-era symbols.
Officials say preliminary tests show the liquid was most likely blood from a person.
"Currently there is no indication as to its origin; authorities are currently not aware of any injuries in connection with the incident," they stated.
City officials stated they were trying "to solve the mystery" and have requested to the public for details.
A high-ranking political figure commented the incident made him without words and had to be resolved promptly.
"This act strikes at the core of Hanau and reopens the pain of the extremist violent incident in 2020," he posted on social media, recalling the death of nine victims by a gunman aiming at residents of foreign heritage in February 2020.