Black Lives Matter mural vandalized at Sacramento Capital Stage; police are investigating
Sacramento police detectives are investigating a possible bias or hate crime after someone vandalized a Black Lives Matter mural on the Capital Stage Co. building in midtown area.
Shortly after 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, officers were called to the building in the 2200 block of J Street to respond to a report that a mural was vandalized with paint, said Officer Karl Chan, a spokesman for the Sacramento Police Department.
He said officers conducted their initial investigation that included canvassing the area to look for potential witnesses and security camera video. Detectives have taken over the investigation and are conducting follow-up.
“At this time a motive for the vandalism has not been identified but the incident is being investigated as a possible bias or hate crime,” Chan said in an email to The Sacramento Bee.
The Police Department on Thursday afternoon had not identified any suspects and was seeking tips from the public.
Councilwoman Katie Valenzuela, who represents the midtown area, said the choice of colors (black and yellow paint) used to vandalize the mural suggests the incident may have been “bias related event.”
“Let me be very clear: Racism, bigotry, and hatred are not welcome in Sacramento,” Valenzuela said Thursday in a Facebook post. “These kinds of attacks only reinforce our resolve as a city to continue to fight for equity, diversity, and liberation.”
Founded in 2005, Capital Stage is a professional nonprofit theatre company, where the “mission is to entertain, engage and challenge its audience with bold, thought provoking theatre,” according to the company’s website.
Capital Stage staff shared photos of the paint-smeared mural Thursday on Facebook and asked the public to provide any information they have to help identify those responsible for the vandalism.
“We support our artist Leon Willis and will help clean and restore our mural,” according to a Capital Stage Facebook post. “We are proud to support the #blacklivesmatter movement and message in our community.”
This story was originally published October 14, 2021 at 6:08 PM.
