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Madison Heights residents hold 'Love Rally' in wake of racist graffiti left by vandal

Posted at 6:27 PM, Oct 16, 2019
and last updated 2019-10-16 18:27:24-04

MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich. (WXYZ) — About twenty residents of Madison Heights stood next to Civic Center Park on 13 Mile Road in the cold Wednesday afternoon in hopes of countering the words of hate left by vandal earlier this week.

"It was disgusting," said Nicole Marriott who joined the "Love Rally" with her nine-year-old daughter Rachel.

Earlier this week, Madison Heights Police released a surveillance photo of the man they said is responsible for spray-painting "KKK" and racial slurs on the side of OctaPlasma, a blood plasma donation center.

"When I saw that, it broke my heart," said Vita Palazzolo who also participated in the Love Rally. "There's no reason for it."

The vandal was wearing dark colored pants, a dark colored hoodie, and a bandana covering the lower part of his face.

On Wednesday, police released the video from the same surveillance camera that shows the man in the act of vandalizing the building with the slurs.

Madison Heights Mayor Brian Hartwell posted the following on his Facebook page:

Anyone with information on the person in the surveillance video is urged to call Madison Heights Police Department at 248-585-2100.