Police to investigate ‘hateful behaviour’ after several Pride flags are defaced with homophobic graffiti in Gloucestershire
- Gloucestershire Police are treating the attacks as suspected hate crimes
- First incident happened outside Gloucester Quays shopping centre on June 10
Police are investigating ‘hateful behaviour’ after several Pride banners were scrawled with homophobic graffiti, attacked and damaged.
Investigating officers from Gloucestershire Police are appealing for information about the attacks which are being treated as suspected hate crimes.
One of the pictured banners has ‘we don’t want this crap’ written on it while another reads: ‘Protect the kids from this evil.’
The first incident happened outside Gloucester Quays shopping centre on Saturday, June 10. Police say a man scrawled homophobic graffiti on a Pride banner at around 7.45am.
Then, just two days later, two men and an older woman pulled down three vinyl banners outside of the shopping centre at around 4.35pm. They fled in the direction of Southgate Street.
Police are investigating ‘hateful behaviour’ after several Pride banners were scrawled with homophobic graffiti
This pride banner has black ink scribbled over it: ‘Protect the kids from this evil’
Investigating officers from Gloucestershire Police are treating the crimes as suspected hate crimes
PC Steph Lawrence, County Hate Crime Coordinator at Gloucestershire Constabulary, said: ‘We will not stand for this harmful rhetoric or hateful behaviour which aims to intimidate and hurt our communities.
‘The majority of people in Gloucester are hugely supportive of the LGBT+ community and we will ensure that everyone feels that the city is a safe place for them.
‘We will continue to work with our partners to ensure our county is the safest and most tolerant.’
Officers would like to speak to anybody who witnessed the incidents or has information about the people responsible.
You can contact police through the Constabulary website, quoting either incident 139 of 10 June for the graffiti incident or 399 of 13 June regarding the banners being pulled down.
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