The Mashpee Police Department and the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office are investigating a wave of Islamophobic vandalism that has occurred in two areas in Mashpee.
On June 12 at 7:38 a.m., Mashpee Police responded to reported vandalism along the intersection of Cotuit Road and Windsor Way. The anti-Muslim statement was spray-painted on a three-foot retaining wall, Police Chief Scott Carline said in a statement to the Times.
While police investigated the vandalism on Cotuit Road, more graffiti was reported at the intersection of Emma Oakley Mills Way and Route 130. The anti-Muslim words were spray-painted on a boulder.
The black spray paint on the rock covered the saying, WUN-OH-KEE GOOD EARTH, which had previously been embossed on the surface of the boulder.
Investigation ongoing
Detectives from the Mashpee Police Department and investigators from the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene of both incidents, Carline said.
The search was also conducted with police sniffer dogs. But because of the length of time from discovery and dispersal of the target scent, K-9 techniques were not effective, Carline said.
“This is a very active and ongoing investigation and it would be inappropriate for me to comment further at this time until the investigation is complete,” he said.
Sheriff’s Office Communications Director KC Myers said the Sheriff’s Office cannot comment because the incident is an ongoing investigation.
Other incidents on Cape Cod
In March, a building in Mashpee occupied by the Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project, the Native Land Conservancy and Wildfire Brick Oven Pizza was defaced with graffiti, including swastika-like symbols, according to a news release from the Mashpee Police Department.
No damage occurred to the part of the building where the pizza restaurant is located. The vandalism could be seen from Route 130. It was the second time the building has been defaced with graffiti, said Reclamation Project founder Jessie “Little Doe” Baird.
In 2023, artist Craig Florence returned to his Hyannis studio after a quick lunch break to find a racial slur spray-painted several times on a brick wall twenty feet away. The same year, graffiti containing racial slurs was found in the men’s and boys’ locker rooms of the YMCA in West Barnstable, according to YMCA President and CEO Stacie Peugh.
Rachael Devaney writes about community and culture. Reach her at rdevaney@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter: @RachaelDevaney.
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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Two graffiti incidents investigated in Mashpee; one will follow in March
