Montreal police are investigating a string of vandalism incidents overnight at more than a dozen Metro stations across the city.
At least 16 different stations were targeted, Montreal’s transit authority (STM) confirmed. Doors, walls and some bus stops at the stations were plastered with pro-Palestinian posters and some graffiti.
Many posters read, “Genocide in Palestine, Canada complicit” and some of the graffiti calls for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, as the destruction and death toll in Gaza continues to climb.
The Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) said it began getting calls from commuters and residents around 5 a.m. on Tuesday, a half hour before trains started running.
The SPVM’s hate crimes unit was initially charged with leading the investigation this morning “as a precaution,” police spokesperson Sabrina Gauthier said.
Gauthier said investigators wanted to be sure there was no messaging inciting violence toward a religious group given the violent acts at Jewish institutions this past week.
The case has now been transferred to the SPVM’s Metro division.
In a statement, the STM denounced the vandalism and said its maintenance teams have been deployed to remove the posters and help clean up Tuesday morning.
The vandalized stations include:
- Jean-Talon.
- Villa-Maria.
- Sherbrooke.
- Jarry.
- Mont-Royal.
- Beaubien.
- Édouard-Montpetit.
- Frontenac.
- Pie-IX.
- Viau.
- Fabre.
- Université-de-Montréal.
- Parc.
- De Castelnau.
- Acadie.
- Préfontaine.
Police say investigators will be reviewing security camera footage from several of the stations.
The vandalism comes at a time of rising tensions in Montreal related to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East.