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Police issue CCTV of wanted man over painting of swastika on black family's garage door

North Wales Police is treating incident as hate crime 

Rory Sullivan
Tuesday 16 June 2020 07:30 EDT
Vandal paints swastika on black woman's garage door in Penygroes

Police have released a CCTV image of a man they want to identify after a swastika was sprayed onto a black family’s garage door in Wales.

The racist graffiti was discovered on Saturday morning in the village of Penygroes, Caernarfon, by Margaret Ogunbanwo.

Ms Ogunbanwo, who has lived in the village for 13 years, told BBC Wales she believed her family were targeted because they are black.

"I thought 'oh no, if somebody is feeling this way, maybe I won't be safe going for a walk'," she said.

The mother-of-two has decided not to remove the graffiti immediately, as she says it will serve as a reminder of "the importance of Black Lives Matter".

A CCTV image of a man police want to speak to over the incident (North Wales Police )
A CCTV image of a man police want to speak to over the incident (North Wales Police ) (North Wales Police)

"I'm going to leave that thing up there and let my village see it," Ms Ogunbanwo.

"If we wash it away, it's like it didn't really happen and I want people to remember it," she added.

Inspector Jon Aspinall, of the North Wales Police, said: “At a time when racism is headline news, it is unacceptable for members of our community to be targeted in this way.

“We treat all hate crime extremely seriously, and if anyone can help us identify this person, it would be greatly appreciated.”

Local councillor Judith Humphreys paid tribute to those in the community who had offered support to the Ogunbanwo family.

"Thank you to everyone who has visited, sent messages and offered help as we stand together as a community, showing our support for our neighbours and friends, the Ogunbanwo family, and say very clearly that racism is totally despicable and against everything we stand for,” she said on Monday.

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