BURST
Swastikas were found on three neighbouring businesses in the city’s St-Laurent borough, launching an investigation by the Montreal police hate-crimes unit.
Officers were called around 3 a.m. Wednesday after a 911 call reported graffiti on the storefront of a pharmacy on St-Louis St., according to Montreal police spokesperson Caroline Chèvrefils.
When officers arrived, she said, they found “hate-related graffiti” on the pharmacy as well as on two neighbouring businesses: a butcher shop and an Italian kosher restaurant called Gourmetti.
An employee at the restaurant, who asked not to be named, said all three businesses are Jewish-owned.
The grafitti has since been removed, but Chèvrefils said officers photographed it to preserve evidence. Nearby surveillance cameras have been reviewed as part of the investigation.
So far, no arrests have been made, she said, adding that the investigation is continuing.
Antisemitic hate crimes and incidents have risen significantly in Montreal over the past two years , since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war.
On Saturday, the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran, killing the country’s supreme leader. Tehran responded with missile strikes of its own against Israel and U.S. assets and allies across the region.
That escalation has raised tensions internationally — including in Montreal and elsewhere in Canada. In an incident in Toronto, shots were fired at a synagogue in the city’s North York neighbourhood.
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