For the second time this month, East Bay authorities have discovered racist and hateful graffiti in what is supposed to be a welcoming and friendly environment.
San Leandro police on Sunday responded to reports of racist graffiti defacing park property at San Leandro Marina Park.
When authorities arrived, there was an image spray painted that police recognized as a gang symbol, along with slurs directed at African American and Hispanics across the sprawling amphitheater wall in the park grounds.
Officials quickly got to work and covered up the graffiti, just in time for families to come and celebrate the Easter holidays. Police says the San Leandro community can expect an uptick in the number of patrols in the area.
"The graffiti appears to be predominantly gang related. However, there are some racial slurs that were painted on that wall in addition to the gang graffiti," said Robert McManus of the San Leandro Police Department. "We believe it to be done by a Hayward-based gang. Investigators are looking the possibility of who the suspects could be right now."
He added that the department does not think the culprit is a white supremacist gang.
Police have said there is no connection to racist graffiti found recently on a school district building. In that case, a 21-year-old man was arrested and charged.
