‘Deplorable’: San Pedro man’s car vandalized with racial slur, swastikas
A vandalism incident in San Pedro involving a car that was spray-painted with a racial slur and swastikas is being investigated as a hate crime by the Los Angeles Police Department.
The owner of the car, Reginald Scott, who is Black, found his Red Ford Mustang on Dec. 29 vandalized with black spray paint, spelling out “Merry Christmas,” followed by the N-word and swastikas on the bumper, according to news reports and a GoFundMe site created by Scott. The car had been parked a block from his home.
LAPD Capt. Brent McGuyre said Friday that investigators have made no arrests in the case.
Los Angeles City Councilmember Tim McOsker, whose represents the San Pedro area, called the incident “deplorable” and characterized it as a hate crime.
In a statement issued on X, formerly known as Twitter, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the vandalism “unacceptable in our city,” adding that “hate crimes are on the rise and African Americans continue to be the most common victims in Los Angeles County, like in this case.”
Police said the attacker struck the elderly victim with a belt during an attempted robbery and made antisemitic comments. Jarris Jay Silagi, 44, is being held on $100,000 bail.
Hussam Ayloush, executive director of the Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said in a statement that the group “strongly condemns this blatant act of hate and bigotry against the family.”
Scott could not be reached for comment, but on a GoFundMe page he said, “Having a racial slur spray-painted on the family vehicle is shameful, embarrassing, and difficult to explain to my child.”
The Gofundme site said Scott and his family have lived in their neighborhood for 20 years and have never had their vehicles targeted by vandalism. McGuyre confirmed that Scott had previously reported incidents of vandalism to police.
The incidents have made the family consider moving from the area, according to the site. “I was astonished,” he told Fox11 news about the crime. “I was in disbelief.”
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