HARRISBURG, Pa. — Harrisburg mayor Wanda R.D. Williams issued a statement on Friday condemning "hateful vandalism" after a swastika and a racist term was found painted on the city's abandoned traffic engineering building.
The vandals broke into the vacant building, located at South 19th and Caledonia streets, and spray-painted the racist and anti-Semitic graffiti on the building's windows from inside, Williams said.
"This morning, the City of Harrisburg woke up to discover that we were the victims of hateful vandalism," Williams said in her statement.
Williams said the incident is under investigation by Harrisburg Police.
"I urge whoever did this to come forward, because we are going to find out," Williams said.
"I want to be very clear: hate has no place in Harrisburg," said Williams. "This is not just an attack on our Black and Jewish population. These words and symbols are anti-Hispanic, anti-LGBTQ, and in general, just anti-American, and do not represent us.
"We are in a time where a lot that is going on in the world is dividing us, so I call on Harrisburg -- my Harrisburg that I grew up in, that I know at its core is just as upset about this as me -- to band together and push this hate out. While this hurts today, it will make us stronger and more unified moving forward."
