Racist graffiti shows up in same garage for second time this month

For the second time this month, Palo Alto police are investigating a hate crime at a city garage, where a racial epithet directed against Black people and an anti-Jewish symbol were found Friday.

The vandalism was reported by a passerby about 5:30 p.m. at City Lot “R” on High Street, in two places on the second floor. The racial epithet was found on a sign, and the offensive symbol was near a stairwell, both drawn in black marker, Palo Alto police said in a press release on Monday.

Public Works crews were called to immediately remove the writings.

A prior vandalism was reported at the garage on Sept. 15, when racial epithets directed at Black people were written on a concrete pillar in the same parking garage, police said.

Authorities believe the same suspect may be responsible for both incidents, but there is no known connection to other cases reported in the city this year. Police have yet to identify a suspect in any of the incidents.

Anyone with information about the vandalism is asked to call the police 24-hour dispatch center at (650) 329-2413. Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voice mail to (650) 383-8984.

Information on other hate crime vandalisms reported in Palo Alto public spaces in 2021 is available at www.cityofpaloalto.org/PAPDnews, using the search keyword “hate.”