Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh has ordered an investigation into racist and anti-Semitic graffiti that was written on city property in October.

The Syracuse Police Department has begun to investigate the vandalism, which includes a drawing of a swastika, Walsh said in a Wednesday press release. The graffiti was written Oct. 30 in the back parking lot of the Cecile Community Center, located on West Seneca Turnpike.

Common Council President Helen Hudson was informed of the graffiti Tuesday night by a constituent. Hudson reported the vandalism to Walsh, who immediately notified SPD. The police department’s Criminal Investigations Division is conducting the investigation.

“I was informed tonight that when city employees discovered the graffiti, it was immediately removed consistent with how graffiti is handled on our grounds,” Walsh said.

The city vandalism occurred about a week before two floors of Syracuse University’s Day Hall were vandalized with racist graffiti targeting black and Asian people. There have been at least 12 hate crimes and bias-related incidents reported on or near SU’s campus since Nov. 7, when the residence hall graffiti was found by the Department of Public Safety. A swastika was found in a snowbank near the 505 on Walnut apartment complex, and a white supremacist manifesto was posted to SU’s GreekRank.com forum.

“It is our duty to create an environment in which employees are vigilant to report any acts of bias or hatred in our community,” Walsh said. “I want our employees and all of our residents to know that we have zero tolerance for hate in our City.”