Cars soaped with swastikas in Ocean Grove, police say

NEPTUNE TOWNSHIP —Someone left offensive and anti-Semitic graffiti written in soap on more than a dozen cars parked in Ocean Grove during "Mischief Night," according to police.

The first instances of the graffiti were found on Wednesday morning and reported to Neptune Township police, Capt. Michael McGhee told the Asbury Park Press.

McGhee told the newspaper that considering the timing of the graffiti, it is being investigated as criminal mischief. The graffiti included swastikas and racial slurs, which led police to investigate the incidents as bias crimes.

McGhee said that there were also "sexually perverse pictures" on vehicles, but that none of the messages seemed to be politically motivated or intended to intimidate any particular group. After investigators photographed the vandalism, the images were washed off, according to McGhee.

Ocean Grove is home to the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, a Christian group that operates the Great Auditorium. It is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

McGhee did not return a message seeking comment on the incident as of Thursday afternoon.