Photos by Kyle Green | The Roanoke Times

Rabbi Fabian Werbin (left) and Beth Israel Synagogue member Gary Karesh use paint remover to scrub a religious slur off the front door of the synagogue on Franklin Road in Roanoke on Monday. Below: A car with flat tires sits on Fourth Street Southwest. Police said vandals swept through parts of Old Southwest slashing dozens of tires and spray painting buildings and businesses.

Vandals hit parts of Roanoke's Old Southwest neighborhood Sunday night or Monday morning, slashing dozens of tires and spray painting graffiti on buildings, including an anti-Semitic message on a synagogue.

The front door at Beth Israel Synagogue on Franklin Road was vandalized, and racial slurs were painted on Horizon Home Care in the 1000 block of Jefferson Street and Comfort Services Heating and Air in the 300 block of Albemarle Avenue. The Heart Institute in the 200 block of McClanahan Street in South Roanoke also was hit with graffiti, police spokeswoman Aisha Johnson said.

Police also reported that tires were slashed on 45 vehicles parked between the 200 and 400 blocks of Highland, Mountain, Washington and Elm avenues and Fourth Street. Some vehicles had damage to multiple tires.

Police said they believe the graffiti incidents are related, but did not say whether the graffiti and tire slashings are connected.

No one has been arrested, but officers who responded to the tire slashings about 2:15 a.m. Monday spoke to a person of interest at the scene, Johnson said.

Rabbi Fabian Werbin and synagogue member Gary Karesh painted over the markings Monday after police had photographed the damage.

Werbin said he does not believe the vandalism is a reflection of the residents of Old Southwest. In fact, he said, several people from the neighborhood expressed their sympathy and offered to help repaint the doors.

The timing of the vandalism falls on the week of Tisha B'Av, a Jewish holiday that commemorates the destruction of the first and second temples in Jerusalem.

"People still try to destroy what we are trying to build," Werbin said.

The graffiti incidents are being investigated as bias-motivated crime, Johnson said.

That means that if the perpetrators intentionally selected the property because of the race, religion or national origin of its owner or occupant, they could be charged with a felony punishable by at least six months in prison.

Roanoke Commonwealth's Attorney Donald Caldwell said these types of incidents rarely happen in the city.

"We have seen it periodically over the years," he said. "It doesn't seem to come from any organized group. It tends to come from younger people just acting out."

While the synagogue and the other affected businesses were having the graffiti painted over, dozens of vehicle owners were replacing tires.

"It is really frustrating," said Ashley Patriarca, who found two slashed tires on her Toyota Yaris, which had been parked on Mountain Avenue.

About six weeks ago, she said a couple of cars in the block had their windows smashed or cracked. Vandals knocked the passenger side mirror off Patriarca's car, but it was easy to fix, she said.

"I hope this is the last thing that happens."

John Haskins, 19, said he believes he spotted the person who damaged the tires.

He was watching a movie early Monday morning when he heard what sounded like gushing air. He said he walked outside his Highland Avenue apartment and saw a man slashing tires on a van.

Haskins called police and said that while he waited for officers to arrive, he could hear the man slashing tires as he made his way down the street.

Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to call Crime Line at 344-8500 or police at 853-5959.

Staff writer Neil Harvey contributed to this report.