Three swastikas were spray-painted in a Jewish fraternity at Vanderbilt University

(Reuters) - Three swastikas were spray-painted in the house of a Jewish fraternity in Vanderbilt University in Tennessee and the school is investigating the incident as a hate crime, a university official said on Tuesday.

The swastikas were painted in the building's elevator and on a basement door in the middle of the night on Saturday, the university in Nashville said in a statement. The vandalism happened after a party at the Tau Chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi.

"Regardless of who is responsible and what the motivation was, the university condemns the reprehensible depiction of this symbol that since the time of Nazi Germany has come to be associated with hate, anti-Semitism, violence, death and murder," Susan Wente, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, said in a statement.

The Vanderbilt incident comes days after the University of Oklahoma expelled two members of a fraternity who led a racist chant on a bus.