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Racist graffiti that was spray-painted across the outside wall of a predominantly black Ottawa church just days before their Martin Luther King Day service is being investigated as a hate crime, Ottawa police said.
On Friday, vandals defaced the southside wall of Parkdale United Church with a racial epithet along with “Tupac” – the name of a rapper killed in a 1996 drive-by shooting – and other words and tags. The graffiti spanned just under 10 metres along the wall.
The vandalism appeared on the wall shortly after the church put up signs promoting a special Martin Luther King Day ceremony. Ottawa police attended the Sunday service as a precaution.
On Wednesday, Ottawa police confirmed central division detectives are investigating the graffiti as a hate crime.
“They would look at the whole thing, who’s targeted, the context and so on,” said Ottawa police Const. Marc Soucy.
“We’ve never had anything like this happen before. Break-ins, sure, but I’ve been here for 16 years and never this type of thing,” the church’s pastor, Rev. Anthony Bailey, told Postmedia News. Bailey is the only black United church pastor in Ottawa and the leader of a very diverse congregation that boasts upwards of 80 black people.
Bailey said the church has already paid for the cleanup.
This whole ordeal hit home for Bailey. He and his brother were victims of a hate crime on the streets of Montreal several years ago. They were attacked and Bailey’s brother died from knife wounds.
“This was a little bit of a trigger when I saw those words on the wall,” he said, “but my faith and my community and the support I’ve received really holds me up.”
Bailey said he and the congregation have decided to take the high road.
“This happened, yes, but we are undeterred. We work very hard at celebrating our diversity,” he said.
“Martin Luther King said it best. We live in a great world house and we must learn how to live together and be together.”
查看原文...
On Friday, vandals defaced the southside wall of Parkdale United Church with a racial epithet along with “Tupac” – the name of a rapper killed in a 1996 drive-by shooting – and other words and tags. The graffiti spanned just under 10 metres along the wall.
The vandalism appeared on the wall shortly after the church put up signs promoting a special Martin Luther King Day ceremony. Ottawa police attended the Sunday service as a precaution.
On Wednesday, Ottawa police confirmed central division detectives are investigating the graffiti as a hate crime.
“They would look at the whole thing, who’s targeted, the context and so on,” said Ottawa police Const. Marc Soucy.
“We’ve never had anything like this happen before. Break-ins, sure, but I’ve been here for 16 years and never this type of thing,” the church’s pastor, Rev. Anthony Bailey, told Postmedia News. Bailey is the only black United church pastor in Ottawa and the leader of a very diverse congregation that boasts upwards of 80 black people.
Bailey said the church has already paid for the cleanup.
This whole ordeal hit home for Bailey. He and his brother were victims of a hate crime on the streets of Montreal several years ago. They were attacked and Bailey’s brother died from knife wounds.
“This was a little bit of a trigger when I saw those words on the wall,” he said, “but my faith and my community and the support I’ve received really holds me up.”
Bailey said he and the congregation have decided to take the high road.
“This happened, yes, but we are undeterred. We work very hard at celebrating our diversity,” he said.
“Martin Luther King said it best. We live in a great world house and we must learn how to live together and be together.”
查看原文...
