When Shane Morrow went to visit his uncle Larry at Glendale Care Centre in Toronto’s Swansea neighbourhood this week, he noticed something strange on his head.

Shane said he and his mother initially thought his uncle had some sort of accident and that the black marks they were seeing were stitches. However, upon closer look, he realized they were very wrong.

Someone had drawn a swastika and a happy face on his uncle’s head in black marker.

“I couldn’t believe my eyes,” Shane said.

Shane said he questioned the staff member on duty who allegedly told him that this was one of two swastikas that were drawn on the 65-year-old’s body by “a younger man.” She then attempted to scrape off the swastika with her fingernail, Shane said.

He said he was told that his uncle initially had a swastika drawn on his back, which was able to be washed off, but the one on his head was not.

Shane said he then began to worry as to how a person could draw on his uncle’s body like that.

“I was thinking: How did he get his shirt off? Why was his shirt off? Did this guy pull his shirt over his head and was abusing him?” Shane said, adding that he also noticed bruising on his uncle’s arms.

On Thursday night, Toronto police released a statement, which said they received a call at 9:55 a.m. Monday.

“It is alleged that a man used a marker to write on another man’s head and body, in addition to other acts which interfered with the lawful enjoyment of the premises,” the statement read.

“The officers investigated and noted the markings were a few words and scribbles. No discernable images were found. Police are aware of an image of the man circulating on social media. This image shows what is believed to be a swastika on the man’s head. This marking was not visible to attending officers at the time of the original call. Today, the person responsible has been arrested. This matter is still under investigation and charges are pending.”

Larry, who is living with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and diabetes, has been a resident at Glendale, at 46 The Queensway, for approximately two years and is on a waitlist to get into a retirement home.

The incident is “a private matter,” said a Glendale Care Centre staff member who answered the phone.

The centre “cannot divulge any information at this time,” said the person, who wouldn’t provide their name to toronto.com.

Shane said that aside from the alleged abuse, he also noticed his uncle was clad in dirty clothes and living in an unclean environment at the facility.

“The smell of feces, the smell of urine, I could not believe it,” he said. “It was to the point that I wanted to grab my uncle, throw him on my back and get out of there. That’s how bad it was.”

While the Morrows are not Jewish, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs in Toronto has reached out to them, offering support following the incident.

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The CIJA has released a statement saying they are “horrified by reports that an elderly man suffering from Alzheimer’s was brutally abused at a Toronto care facility.”

“That someone would commit such a vicious assault on a human being in our society is almost beyond belief,” the statement read.