Graffiti that says “Native Land” in red paint on the Mission San Jose in Fremont is being investigated as a hate crime, the police department said in a news release on Saturday.

The graffiti, which includes splatters of paint that the Fremont Police Department said simulated blood, was painted on the side of a church on the mission grounds. A photo of the graffiti shows the writing on both sides of a wooden door decorated with a red, white and blue half-circle banner. It was reported to morning patrol officers and was painted overnight, the department said in its news release.

“The Fremont Police Department takes these matters seriously and will dedicate appropriate resources to this investigation,” the agency said. “Fremont does not tolerate hate and will ask the Alameda County District Attorney to fully prosecute those who are found responsible for this crime.”

A spokesperson with the police department said a hate crime includes any crimes where the victims were targeted for a protected class, which includes religion.

Volunteers cleaning up the paint criticized the action, saying it didn’t advance the cause of Indigenous people in the state. Andrew Galvan, who describes himself as an Ohlone Indian descendant, said he didn’t believe Indigenous people were behind the vandalism.

“This is a Catholic Church, this is where I pray,” Galvan said. “Not only is this vandalism, this is desecration of a sacred site.”

Also critical was Dave Rosetto, of Fremont, who was also at the church on Saturday afternoon helping to clean.

“I’d like somebody to show me what good came out of this,” Rosetto said.

The legacy of California’s missions and the genocide of the state’s original Indigenous inhabitants has come under higher scrutiny in recent weeks, with protesters toppling a statue in Golden Gate Park of Junipero Serra, founder of multiple missions where Indigenous people were mistreated and forced to convert to Catholicism throughout the U.S. and Mexico.

Last year Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an apology in front of Indigenous leaders for the state’s role in what he said could only be described as genocide.