Racist Graffiti Investigated Across Chester County

WEST CHESTER, PA — Several reports of racist graffiti are being investigated across Chester County, according to state legislators familiar with the investigation.

State Sen. Andy Dinniman (D-19) said Wednesday that police are looking into reports of racist graffiti in both Coatesville and Valley Township.

"Let me perfectly clear: there is absolutely no room for this kind of hate in our communities. Not now. Not here in Chester County. Not anywhere," Dinniman said. "Sadly, it appears to be part of a larger trend that’s occurring all over the country."

Three sites were vandalized in the western part of Coatesville, according to Dinniman: a car, a garage door, and the wall of a convenience store on Valley Road and Stroud Avenue.

In Valley Township, the vandalism occurred on streets signs and the street itself.

State Rep. Harry Lewis Jr. (R-74) said that the graffiti included "racist slurs and Nazi symbols."

"Our community can do better; this isn’t the real Coatesville," Lewis said. "This isn’t the home filled with all of the wonderful students and athletes who I’ve loved and respected. It breaks my heart that we still have to fight for equality and against hatred."

The vandalism is believed to have occurred between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. on Tuesday morning, according to authorities.

"We must continue to come together and renounces bigotry, prejudice, and hate in for what it is – unacceptable garbage," Dinniman said. "Cowards who vandalize under cover of night will not intimidate us. The steel of our communities is in our diversity. The strength of our nation is in our unity."

Incidents of racist graffiti and Nazi imagery have been widespread across the region and the country over the past year. Just after the election last year, storefronts in Philadelphia were vandalized. And then in May, tombstones at a Jewish cemetery were vandalized.

"As the first African-American legislator in Chester County, I won’t stop," Lewis added. "Our community has come too far to stop fighting. We’ve broken too many barriers. To the criminals who vandalized private property and thought they can set our community back, we won’t tolerate the hatred."

If you have any information related to these crimes, please contact Coatesville Police at (610) 383-7000. Tips can also be made by texting “Coatesville” and your tip to 847411.

Patch file photo