"I think it's horrible and it's very sad, and I actually feel sorry for the people that did it because I think they are very angry and troubled and trying to take it out on other people that don't deserve it," said Elle Perry, a resident of West Los Angeles.
Rabbi Abraham Cooper from the Simon Wiesenthal Center said he sees this kind of thing all too often.
"It's of course offensive and I think we live in a world today when we say, 'We don't know better.' I think they knew well enough that this is a symbol, that even if they don't always know the particulars it's meant to hurt, it's meant to insult," he said.
City crews were working Tuesday afternoon to clean the swastikas off the sidewalk. But for people affected by the vandalism, it is not something that can be so easily erased.
"The wors part is that it's probably just a bunch of random kids that are just throwing it out there cause that's some symbol that they don't even really know the gravity of," said resident Jacob Moss. "It's a pretty serious thing to write. It's not a joke."
Los Angeles police are investigating the incident but would not comment about the case.
