Edmonton police are investigating, and believe a case of racist graffiti on a south side home was not a random incident.

A family living on Edmonton’s south side was out of town for the weekend, and was on their way home, when police called.

The homeowner said an officer called about an hour before she, and her children, arrived at home.

She said police told her the house had been vandalized – but she didn’t know the extent until they pulled up in their driveway in the area of 13 Avenue and 51 Street.

“My heart sank and all I could do was cry for my mixed [race] children in the back seat [of the] car,” she said, in an e-mail to CTV News Wednesday.

Spray-painted in black on the front of the family’s home were racial slurs and swastikas.

“Whoever did it should be very ashamed of themselves,” Neighbour Nicole Libich said. “There are young kids and families in this area.”

Edmonton’s Police Chief Rod Knecht saw images of the vandalism Wednesday.

“That’s absolutely, I mean, shocking, that’s unacceptable,” Knecht said, adding 112 hate crimes were reported in Edmonton in 2012.

It’s a number Knecht believes is actually much higher.

“These kinds of crimes are difficult to really get a handle on because a lot of them will go unreported,” Knecht said. “People just won’t report them, they’ll say, you know, I’ll let it go.”

The home targeted by vandals is located in city councillor Amarjeet Sohi’s ward – he said he was disturbed by the incident.

“These kinds of incidents do remind that there’s more work to be done,” Sohi said. “I will be following up with EPS to see how we can help.”

Police said a passing motorist had called police to report the home had been tagged with racist graffiti at about 1 p.m. Sunday.

Police are asking anyone with information on the incident to call the Edmonton Police Service non-emergency line at 780-423-4567 or #377 on a mobile phone.

Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

While police investigate, the task of cleaning up the vandalism is underway, and the homeowner said she’s trying to help her children deal with the shocking crime.

“It is unreal to me that in 2013, such hate crimes still exist in this city,” she said. “I am trying to reassure my kids that they are safe in their own home.”

With files from Amanda Anderson