Reward Offered In Racist Graffiti Case [VIDEO]

Federal, state, and local law enforcement officials and political leaders came together on Sept. 20, to denounce a recent that was tagged on the homes of some of Concord’s newer immigrant residents.

State Attorney General Michael Delaney and Acting-Chief John Duval, of the Concord Police Dept., held a press conference outside one of the homes on Perley Street, and let the family of the home and other residents know that there would be swift action against the perpetrator or persons involved in the tagging. The officials also announced that a member of the Concord community had offered $1,000, to be put in the form of a reward, to anyone with specific information that would lead to action in the case. The homes that were tagged are on Perley and Downing streets. No other incidents in the city have been reported at this time.

Civic and political leaders, including Concord Mayor Jim Bouley, and Ward councilors J. Allen Bennett, Elizabeth Blanchard, Amanda Grady, and Fred Keach, also attended the press conference, along with federal law enforcement officials.

“In my 25 years experience, you see either impulsive acts of teens or misguided acts of anger, usually, with very vile words,” Duval said. “The specificity of the message and the way it was written didn’t suggest that it was a harmless prank which is why we’re taking it seriously and involving all entities of law enforcement in terms of pooling resources to try and find out what happened.

Duval wouldn’t comment specifically on the state of the investigation or who from the community offered the award.

“I spoke to the individual, he resides in the city and runs a business in the city,” he said. “For a lot of reasons, this particular crime struck home for him and he reached out to us … that really underscores the sentiment that a lot of our community and our citizens have. This is horrific and it won’t be tolerated.”