Vandals used toilet paper to write the phrase “kill whites” in large letters on a Torrance hillside visible to a nearby middle school, police said Monday.

Residents began calling police about 7:40 a.m. when the phrase became visible on the hillside of Los Arboles Park, commonly known as Rocketship Park, on Calle de Ricardo.

Officers investigated and discovered the message was written with toilet paper, Torrance police Sgt. Ronald Harris said.

The letters could be seen from adjacent Richardson Middle School, Harris said.

Police were investigating the case as vandalism and a hate crime.

— Larry Altman