About 50 vehicles have been smeared with what appears to be human blood in the German city of Hanau near Frankfurt, police say. Cars, walls, and postboxes were defaced, sometimes with swastikas, prompting a swift response from law enforcement. Police were alerted late on Wednesday night when a resident noticed a car in the Lamboy district covered with a reddish liquid applied in the shape of a swastika. Officers subsequently uncovered many other affected cars and house walls in the vicinity.

Swastikas are banned in Germany under laws prohibiting the public display of Nazi symbols. Preliminary tests indicate the liquid is likely human blood, although authorities have not yet determined its source or if there were any related injuries. Local officials expressed the urgency of solving this case and have requested public assistance. Bundestag Vice President Omid Nouripour described the incident as shocking and stressed its importance, noting its connection to the 2020 far-right terrorist attack in Hanau that claimed nine lives. This act, he stated, reopened wounds that had yet to heal, highlighting the ongoing struggles with far-right extremism in the region.