In two acts earlier this week, a Jewish Center located off of Michigan State University’s campus in Downtown East Lansing was vandalized.

The Jewish Center, MSU Chabad, had rocks thrown at its windows and “Nazi symbols” spray-painted on the building’s front door on two separate days, according to a press release from the East Lansing Police Department.

The actions occurred during Hanukkah, a Jewish holiday, and followed a mass shooting in Sydney, Australia where two gunmen targeted Jewish community members celebrating the holiday, killing 15 and injuring dozens more. 

The first incident occurred on Tuesday, where an individual threw rocks at the Jewish Center. According to ELPD this was initially reported as a criminal malicious destruction of property.

The second incident, which occurred yesterday between 3 and 4 a.m., involved an individual spray painting swastikas and the words “he’s back” on MSU Chabad’s front door before throwing rocks at the building’s windows.

ELPD is now investigating these incidents as possible hate crimes.

According to an ELPD press release, video evidence of the vandalism indicates that both acts were committed by the same individual.

ELPD has also released images of a suspect, and is asking the public to help identify the individual.

MSU Chabad is just one of around 30 Chabad centers across the state of Michigan and over 5000 centers globally, executive director of Chabad Lubavitch of Michigan Rabbi Kasriel Shemtov said.

“Every Chabad Center is a place that's kind of a home for anyone that's interested in learning more about their Judaism, learning more about being a good person in this world,” Shemtov said.