University of Leeds halls of residence wall sprayed with Nazi swastika in anti-Semitic graffiti attack

A swastika and the word ‘Nazi’ has been sprayed on one of the walls in the Charles Morris halls of residence at the University of Leeds.

The bright red painted graffiti reportedly appeared on Halloween (October 31), along with ‘puerile graffiti sprayed elsewhere’ in the building which is on Mount Preston Street.

The university is unaware of any direct threats made to anyone living in the halls and suspect this to be a one-off act of vandalism by intruders.

West Yorkshire Police are treating the incident as a hate crime and are investigating.

A university spokesperson said: “We take incidents of this nature extremely seriously and the safety and welfare of our students and staff is our number one priority.

“The graffiti in question – as well as puerile graffiti sprayed elsewhere in the building – was removed as soon as we were made aware of it.

“The matter is being investigated and CCTV footage has been reviewed. We have also reported it to the police.

“We suspect this is a one-off indiscriminate act of vandalism by intruders and are unaware of any direct threats made to anyone living in the halls of residence. Nevertheless, security patrols have been stepped up in and around the halls to help reassure students and staff.

“Students with concerns or further information should contact the police, our Residence Life staff or Security Services via 0113 343 5494.”

Anyone with information about this can contact police on 101, or by using the options on the West Yorkshire Police website.

The crime reference is 13200552418.