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A gay and lesbian community center was the victim of a hate crime Sunday night, when a vandal wrote the word “fag” and drew a swastika on its outdoor bulletin board. 

The incident at The Pacific Center for Human Growth on the 2700 block of Telegraph Avenue is the 22nd hate crime reported in Berkeley this year, said Police Information Officer Mary Kusmiss.  

Berkeley has seen a sharp rise in hate related crimes since Sept. 11, 2001 Kusmiss said. 

Sunday’s message was written with a black permanent marker on papers attached to the bulletin board that hung from the center’s front porch. No one at the center was immediately available for comment. 

Police ask anyone who witnessed the crime to call the city’s Hate Crimes Hotline at 981-5968.