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LGBTQ+ Center Vandalized For Second Time This Year

Nevada

Vandals spraypainted an anti-gay epithet on the LGBTQ Center of Southern Nevada earlier this week.

The local community in Nevada is reeling after a local nonprofit was targeted in an act of anti-LGBTQ+ vandalism.

On Thursday, an unidentified suspect spraypainted the word "fag" on the glass doors of the entrance to the LGBTQ Center of Southern Nevada, as the organization reported on Facebook. Officers were called to the scene at 7 a.m. on Thursday morning, and video of the incident shows a man described as between the ages of 20 and 25 vandalizing the building. He was reportedly dressed in a black hooded sweatshirt and a camouflage baseball cap.

Although a suspect has not been identified, the matter is currently being investigated by police. The Center has a partnership with local and federal authorities and the organization said it is "cooperating fully" with Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

Joe Oddo, Jr., president of the Center's governing board, said he was "saddened" to see the LGBTQ+ community space be "the victim of a hate crime yet again."

"While today we focus on what happened on the outside of our building, I am reminded of the amazing work that has occurred and continues to occur on the other side of that door that enhances the lives of the LGBTQ community here in Southern Nevada," he said in a statement.

This is the second attack on the Center in recent months. On the eve of the anniversary of the Stonewall riots, an unidentified person set fire to one of the palm trees at the entrance of the building in June 2018. Although no one was injured, the incident reportedly resulted in permanent damage to the facilities. Despite video surveillance of the premises, a suspect has yet to be named.

Andre C. Wade, the former executive director of the Center, said in a statement that thes "reprehensible, hateful" actions of anti-LGBTQ+ vandals have "no place in our community and... does not reflect who we are."

"As Nevada's statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization, Silver State Equality stands with The Center and all LGBTQ Nevadans in our shared struggle for full, lived equality," said Wade, who currently serves as the Nevada State Director for Silver State Equality. "Our community will not be intimidated, and we will not live in fear."

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