There were eight reports of graffiti vandalism in Chapel Hill on July 8, and many of the victims were neighborhood residents.
Public Information Lt. Josh Mecimore of the Chapel Hill Police Department described four incidents in the neighborhood of Old Oxford Road.
“A car and a mailbox were spray painted with a heart shape and then the car also had the word ‘LOVE’ written on it,” said Mecimore. “Not a terribly loving thing to do to somebody’s car.”
However, while the numerous incidents of graffiti reported that night may have been connected, they don’t appear to have been committed with a clear message to convey.
“Some of them were just sort of meaningless graffiti,” said Mecimore. “You know, it wasn’t words. Not even shapes. It was just spray painting for the purpose, maybe, of damaging the property.
“But then, some of them, in the same area, had curse words, peace symbols – and then, some of them had the ‘ACAB’ tagging, which we see from time-to-time, along with some anarchy symbols.”
He said it’s possible these incidents have nothing to do with any anarchist group. The circled-A symbol is often appropriated just for the sake of graffiti vandalism. One more creative tag had a touch of snark to it.
“One said ‘OH NO, GRAFFITI,’ with a smiley face,” he said.
Other incidents reported that night include anarchy symbols on the 11th green of the Chapel Hill Country Club, which has been targeted previously for vandalism.
An anarchy symbol and some violent anti-police slogans were painted on a manhole cover on Franklin Street.
“Another one happened at East Chapel Hill High School,” said Mecimore. “And that one just says ‘SCHOOL = PRISON’ and then some curse words aimed at the school.”
Mecimore said it’s not unusual for several incidents of graffiti to occur on the same night.
Another incident – the defacement of a neighborhood sign – was reported on Old Oxford Road on Sunday.
