The 57-year-old was inside his restaurant, Caribbean Eatery, near the center of St. Catharines. “I got here on Sunday, warming up some church burgers … I looked back there and saw this car with n —- r written on it and I said, ‘What’ s going on here? ‘” He told CBC Hamilton in an interview. . “I have never experienced this. I have been here since 1986 … it took a little weight on me.” The vandalism he saw in the parking lot outside his restaurant is part of a series of racist and homophobic graffiti in the area being investigated by Niagara police. Police initially investigated vandalism at Harriet Tubman Public School just five minutes away, but have since identified 13 cases of hate graffiti, including:
Six vehicles. Three houses. A company. Two school buses.
The vandals struck on Saturday night around 10 p.m. ET, according to police and surveillance plans captured by Andrade. The cost of the damage is over $ 5,000, according to police. The first suspect is described as a man of medium build wearing light-colored pants, a light-colored sweater, a baseball cap and black Nike shoes. Police also say he used his left hand. The second suspect is described as a thin man wearing a hooded sweater, trousers, light-colored shoes and a flat-brimmed baseball cap. The bronze statue at Harriet Tubman Public School in St. Louis. Catharines were tarnished in blue, some of which had already been cleaned by the time this photo was taken on Monday. (Jessica Maxwell / CBC) Police say the suspects probably walked and were on the streets of George, Catherine, Albert, Henry and Louisa. Police are requesting any video that could help locate the vandals.
The community condemns hate vandalism
Saleh Waziruddin, a member of the executive committee of the Niagara Falls Anti-Racism Association, lives near the area and said he was concerned about the “brazen” nature of the vandalism. “It’s scary; they just walk around without worrying about being caught or anything like that. It has to be closed,” he said. “Moments away from where I sleep; this kind of violence happens. It makes you feel very insecure.” Andrade said racist graffiti is hitting even closer to home because his granddaughter is a Harriet Tubman Public School student and the mass shooting at the Tops supermarket in Buffalo, New York, where 10 blacks were killed, was so recent. (CBC) “If these guys can … take the time to do all this, what follows … makes you think twice,” Andrade said. “We send men to the moon, we do all these things and yet we can not communicate… I do not understand why people can not see the past of color.” Mayor Walter Sendzik said in a public statement that hatred has no place in the city. “The words used are charged with the thought of white supremacy – the actions show a poisonous way of thinking. When these heinous acts take place, we must shout loudly and show support for those affected by hate-driven vandalism. “, He wrote. Waziruddin said he had a message for the vandals. “Better to stop because people are not going to accept it and better to surrender. Someone knows who they are.” It also has a message for the community. “We can not be quiet. We can not believe that this is not going to get worse.” For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians – from anti-black racism to success stories in the black community – see Being Black in Canada, a CBC project that Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.
