TROY TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- Three businesses were vandalized in one part of Bradford County and some believe it's a hate crime.
Vandals spray-painted swastikas on two businesses in the Troy area. They also broke windows and stole items.
The owners of Shaw's Furniture near Troy are not Jewish, but they tell Newswatch 16 they are offended that someone spray-painted a swastika on the front of their store. Just a few feet away, another swastika was painted on a Redbox machine at Tops grocery store.
When Mark Shaw and his wife opened their furniture store near Troy on Friday morning, they noticed the spray paint on the front of their business.
"On ours, they put a swastika on our one main wall that faces Route 6, so everybody gets to see it. On our door they put 'Jew,'" Mark Shaw said.
Shaw's furniture store wasn't the only place tagged with the offensive label. Just a few feet away, a swastika was painted on the Redbox machine at Tops grocery store.
At nearby Tygart Beverage, offensive language was painted on the door. Windows were broken, and beer and a sign were stolen.
Some people who live in the Troy area think the vandalism is offensive.
"I think it's a damn shame. There's no reason for it," Diane Kerekes said. "Nothing like that has ever happened around here that I'm aware of. I've been coming up here for years. I think they ought to catch the kids who did this. It's got to be kids, bored kids."
The people we spoke with tell Newswatch 16 this is especially frustrating as small business owners.
"It's money out of the pocket that really doesn't need to be," Shaw said.
Shaw tells Newswatch 16 that even though he is not Jewish, he is offended by the swastika and believes it is a hate crime.
"We just try to run out business and do what we can, but something like that it's disturbing. It really is."
State police and the Troy Police Department are both investigating these incidents.