“I felt a complicated mixture of sadness, pain and anger,” he said in an interview.

“This was made worse because my father saw the vandalised signs before I did. He was very emotional and unsuccessfully tried to erase the swastika symbol with his finger.”

Inside the camps where China tries to brainwash Muslims until they love the party and hate their own culture

More than 50 per cent of Fremont’s population is Asian while more than 40 per cent are foreign born, according to the 2010 Bay Area census.

Police in the city said on Sunday they had launched an investigation into the incident.

“We are investigating this as a vandalism and possible hate crime,” police said on Facebook. “We hope to provide an update early in the week as the investigation progresses.”

Police spokesperson Gina Bosques was quoted by the newspaper as saying police were treating it as a “possible hate crime”.

“This is definitely cause for concern. Fremont is a very welcoming community and we celebrate diversity,” she said.

Fugitive Chinese social media influencer and husband await trial after returning from South Korea

Sha is a graduate of the University of California, Hastings law school and Dartmouth College, one of America’s Ivy League universities.

He is running for the council on a progressive platform, combating traffic congestion and school overcrowding.

Fremont is located in the California’s Bay Area, next to the city of San Jose, and has a population of more than 230,000.