If you see a hateful, little, Gollum-esque creature running around Nantucket, Mass., please contact the local police because they are searching for that individual.
According to CBS Boston, to be more specific, police are looking for the person who decided it would be a great idea to write “Niggers Leave” on the front door of a historic African-American building in Nantucket.
Nantucket police confirmed that the hateful vandalism was reported Sunday morning at the African Meeting House building on York Street. In addition to the slur, a “phallic symbol” was also painted on the side of the building.
“It was incredibly hurtful. In a sense, it just feels like nowhere’s safe,” Charity-Grace Mofsen, who manages the meeting house told the Boston Globe on Sunday.
The building, which is currently part of the Museum of African-American History, dates to 1827 and was once used as a church and school for black children on the island, the station notes.
“This senseless act is not only a senseless crime but an attack on the rich history of this very community,” police said.
Police Chief William J. Pittman told the Globe that there are no suspects at this point, but added that police would be “canvassing the neighborhood to see if anybody saw anything.”
Once news spread about the vandalism, residents showed up ready to help clean the building.
“Wonderful outpouring from the Nantucket residents. They were just universally terrific to surround our team and our staff with that kind of positive energy,” Marito Rivero, the director of the museum, told the station.
Pittman emphasized that the department would be taking the vandalism very seriously.
“The community doesn’t tolerate this kind of behavior ... and we’d really like to put the people who were victims here at ease,” he said.
“My first impression of that is ... we’re dealing with somebody who is obviously very immature,” Pittman added. “It’s probably more mischievous than it is sinister, but their choice of location couldn’t have been worse.”
I wonder about that whole immature theory but, hey, I’m not a cop.
Nonetheless, if you know something, feel free to contact Nantucket police at 508-228-1212.