The Masonic lodge in Patterson appeared to be targeted in an act of vandalism when a sign on the city’s western edge was discovered to have been defaced Aug. 9.

The welcome sign displaying the symbols of civic organizations stands next to the California Department of Forestry fire station on Sperry Avenue, just east of Park Center Drive.

Someone crossed out the Masons’ insignia on the sign and wrote “killuminati” next to it, marking over a few other logos.

The rapper Tupac Shakur is credited with coining the word, which is used on albums released after his death in 1996. Other references to the Illuminati, an 18th-century secret society that is sometimes connected with Freemasonry, also appear in Shakur’s work.

Matthew Heath, a member of Patterson Lodge No. 488 of the Free & Accepted Masons, reported the graffiti to Patterson Police Services. He said he warned everyone at the fraternal organization’s Aug. 9 meeting to be cautious in light of the vandalism.

“A lot of the older Masons have the symbol on their cars,” he said. “It’s sad to think that whoever did this has no pride in our town and doesn’t realize or care that all of the 16 Patterson clubs displayed on our welcome sign try to make our town a better place to live for all of us.”

Heath said he began cleaning up the graffiti early Friday, Aug. 10.

Sgt. John Walker said this week that Patterson police had no suspects and no one had stepped forward to take responsibility for the vandalism.