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Palo Alto police are investigating church vandalism as a hate crime after an unknown suspect tore up a pride flag that had been mounted outside.
This Tuesday, May 16, at around 10:58 a.m., the 24-hour dispatch center of the Palo Alto Police Department, received a report of vandalism at the First Lutheran Church, located at 600 Homer Avenue, by an employee of the prayer space.
According to authorities, the investigation revealed that sometime between May 7 and May 11, an unknown suspect had ripped a pride flag and its mounting bracket from the outside front of the church and left it on the ground.
He further indicated that the wall was damaged by the act, but that there is no information on any suspect, and that there is no known connection between this case and others in the past.
The Department said that officers will fully investigate any hate crime reported in Palo Alto, and invited to read a blog post from the City titled "Steps the community can take to help stop hate crimes."
In light of the vandalism, authorities have asked anyone with information about this incident to call our 24-hour dispatch center at (650) 329-2413, while anonymous complaints can be emailed to paloalto@tipnow. org or by text or voicemail at (650) 383-8984.
Finally, the City of Palo Alto stressed that it strongly denounces hate crimes of all kinds and encouraged members of the community to report these incidents immediately by calling the 24-hour call center at (650) 329-2413 or 9 -1-1 if it is an emergency.
This publication was supported in whole or part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library.
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