A swastika was painted over a mural at Duke University dedicated on Sunday to the victims of the deadly synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh.

Duke President Vincent Price said in a letter to the university community that a "tribute on the East Campus Bridge to the victims of the Tree of Life Synagogue massacre was defaced by a large, red swastika."

ADVERTISEMENT

"That such a craven and cowardly act of vandalism – a desecration of a memorial to individuals who were killed because they were Jewish and practicing their faith – should happen anywhere is extremely distressing," he said. "That it should occur in such a visible, public location at Duke should be a matter of grave concern to us all."

Price said that the university will increase security at the school's Freeman Center for Jewish Life and other locations on campus in response to the incident.

Security cameras will also be installed in the vicinity of the East Campus Bridge.

Olivia Levine, who describes herself as a Duke University student on her Facebook page, posted an image of the vandalism on Sunday. In it, the Nazi symbol can be seen painted in red over the Star of David.

The mural also features messages written in Hebrew and English.

The incident at Duke University comes just weeks after a gunman opened fire at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, killing 11 people.

The chief executive and director of the Anti-Defamation League, Jonathan Greenblatt, said in October that his organization had seen a 57 percent increase in acts of harassment, vandalism and violence directed at the Jewish community in 2017.