(JNS) A swastika was founded Sunday night on a mural at Duke University remembering the victims of the deadliest attack in American Jewish history.

In a letter to the school community, university president Vincent Price condemned the act against a memorial for the 11 Jewish worshippers shot dead last month at Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Congregation.

“That such a craven and cowardly act of vandalism—a desecration of a memorial to individuals who were killed because they were Jewish and practicing their faith—should happen anywhere is extremely distressing,” he wrote. “That it should occur in such a visible, public location at Duke should be a matter of grave concern to us all.”

He added, “To our Jewish students, faculty, staff and neighbors—and indeed, every member of our university community—I pledge that Duke will do whatever we can to protect your safety.”