WARNING: THE ABOVE IMAGES MAY BE OFFENSIVE FOR SOME READERS
Quailwood residents in Southwest Bakersfield contacted 23ABC on Wednesday concerning about red swastikas painted around their apartment complex.
"It makes you wonder. It makes you think what is happening in this world?" said Andrea Lomeli.
It's a question many residents at the Quailwood Villa Apartments are asking after finding red swastika signs painted throughout their complex.
"It kind of makes it look like they're trying to make their mark," said Lomeli, who works for and lives there.
She said this is the first time they've seen this type of vandalism in their community.
"So when I got the text messages and stuff today, it was kind of shocking actually, to hear. And they painted it in ugly red, just a bright red on top of tan."
What's also shocking, according to Lomeli, vandals had no consideration for where they tagged the signs: on dumpsters, fire hydrants, signal signs - all located across the street from an elementary school and park.
"They're going to ask you, what does that mean? And we shouldn't have to explain that to kids. They're supposed to just be kids."
Lomeli and other residents don't know if they're being targeted or if it's just a joke by kids who live in the neighborhood.
"This is not the way of life. This is now what you're supposed to be doing," she said.
Management said they'll be cleaning up what they can of the mess and reporting the rest to the city.
"You might destroy our property, but we're going to fix this really quick so no one else has to see it," said Lomeli.
Bakersfield Police said they take any such case very seriously and make every attempt to identify the suspect or suspect.
City of Bakersfield Graffiti Department said they'll remove the tagging that's on public property within 24 hours.
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