PERINTON, N.Y. — The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office is looking for the people responsible for vandalizing property in Perinton with racial slurs and vulgar images. Deputies are also looking into an arson incident.
“They said that the sign was vandalized, spray paint of a swastika and the N-word,” said Father Mickey McGrath of the Church of Resurrection in Fairport – one of the locations vandalized over the weekend. “It's very upsetting to hear anything like that.”
He found out when police contacted him at 3 a.m. on Saturday.
The swastika and a racial slur were spray painted on the church sign. McGrath immediately cleaned it Saturday morning. It happened 24 hours after a similar incident nearby.
"Friday at about 3 a.m. we had someone call 911 seeing suspicious activity in a parking lot," said Monroe County Sheriff’s Capt. Scott Alberti.
Deputies say they found a racial slur spray painted on a vehicle in a parking lot along with inappropriate images at a Perinton complex. Alberti says there was a racial slur and vulgar images spray painted on a garage door and an electrical box nearby in the complex.
When deputies arrived they saw two people running from the area.
“So it's disturbing,” Alberti said. “It's upsetting and it's against what we all believe in, right? We don't want to see that type of stuff in our community. And I would say we do not see it, that often. Very rarely do we see it out in our communities. But when we do, it really catches our attention. We take it very seriously.”
It’s not just the graffiti. Officials say a home was set on fire near the church potentially at the hands of the same people who defaced property. Residents were home, including a child but were not hurt.
The Sheriff's Office has been able to obtain video of two suspects and asks anyone else in the community who might have any other video to come forward.
“If you have video, all along Mason Road which is about a mile long, either side or in that complex, please call 911, and share it with us, we want to see that video," said Alberti.
"They're choosing to express themselves in a very negative way, and I hope that they if they're caught or even if they're not caught that they can really understand that this is not an appropriate way to carry out your life and conduct yourself,” McGrath said. “And I hope that they're able to see the error of their ways and make a change.”
People who live in the area expressed concern.
“We never had any problems, it’s very low crime,” said John Turiano of Fairport. “People get along fine.”
The sheriff stated these acts are despicable and disturbing and will not be tolerated.
“The point is we investigate everything to the fullest,” Alberti said. “But this really is alarming in the arson part of it. That's really getting on the dangerous side.”
McGrath prays for everyone involved.
“I guess we all just want to be watchful of each other and carry on a message that we're here to love God and love our neighbor,” he said. “And that's a message that we want to carry out as a faith community and as neighbors. Hopefully, we can live that message for others and be forgiving, but also hold people accountable, to be good community members and live and support each other in the community rather than to do the things that are destructive and hurtful.”