Police investigate racist graffiti

SAN MATEO » Graffiti appearing to tell people of Chinese descent to “go home” was scrawled on the sidewalks and street in black wax near a San Mateo shopping center last week, police said.

Overnight last Friday, messages appeared off of De Anza Boulevard and Polhemus Road in front of Crystal Springs Shopping Center, according to San Mateo police public information officer Michael Haobsh.

One message etched on the sidewalk near Safeway read “Go home China,” and another on the street said “Filthy bug eating China go home.”

Police responded to calls from passerby about the graffiti about 2 p.m. Saturday. It was removed within the next day, but authorities have urged people to be on the lookout for similar messages elsewhere in San Mateo.

“We’re an extremely diverse city, and we embrace that diversity, both with the people that work and live here,” Haobsh said, adding, “If you see this graffiti, notify police immediately.”

A search for surveillance videos did not immediately turn up useful footage of the area, Haobsh said.

Earlier this year, San Mateo was hit with a string of unusual vandalism incidents that appeared to target “nerds,” with messages like “go home poser nerds” written on sidewalks and signs — including at Crystal Springs Shopping Center.

Based off the similar language and location, police are looking into whether the cases are related. No one ultimately was arrested in connection with the previous incidents.

San Mateo authorities have asked anyone who may know the person or have information about the incidents — including videos of the area from last Friday and Saturday — to contact police.