Police are looking for whoever spray painted hateful graffiti all over a popular walking path in Norwell, Massachusetts.
Vandals spray painted swastikas on trees and on the pavement at the Norwell Pathway, a town property that is popular with local residents who use the area for exercise or walking their dogs.
"It’s really a shame, you know, you come down here and see it's a beautiful place and then you see the graffiti," said resident Nancy Melvin. "It's really a shame. It's such a secluded area but it's really hard to catch the people who are doing it."
The vandals also wrote obscene language on the pathway and drew male body parts.
The graffiti was spray painted sometime between Friday night and Saturday morning.
When resident Richard Meade spotted the damage, he notified police immediately.
"(I) saw a lot of the walkway painted with all kinds of vulgar graffiti and swastikas and a few other things," Meade recalled. It wasn’t too pleasant so I turned around and cut my walk short and came back to the Norwell Police.
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In addition to the graffiti, porta potties were also toppled over.
Most of the damage took place on the section of the path behind the Norwell Middle School.
So far, police have few leads to go on.
"We’re starting from scratch right now. It's a preliminary investigation and we're looking at many different facets and hopefully we’ll have someone in custody or at least be able to identify who did this," said Norwell Police Chief Ted Ross.
The words "Senior Prank" were scribbled near some of the vandalism with the name of a neighboring town. Police are not saying what that town is at this time.
Norwell Public Schools released a statement that read in part, "
This behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated by Norwell Public Schools. Actions and/or symbols that diminish the humanity of any one person affect all of us."
It adds, "While any form of hateful behavior cannot be tolerated and casts a sense of disappointment when it occurs, the vast majority of our students come to school feeling welcome and safe. Please continue to support your child if s/he has questions or concerns and encourage them to support the children around them."
Anyone with information is asked to contact Norwell Police.
