Pride officials in Oxford County are appealing to the public for tips after a newly installed rainbow-coloured crosswalk in Tillsonburg was vandalized.
The Tillsonburg Pride crosswalk, at Broadway and Bridge Street West, was vandalized with what appears to be black spray paint, officials with Oxford Pride said in a Facebook post Monday morning.
“Our sponsors and community members donate and fundraise and this happens. Hate and vandalism,” the post said. “This is why we have to continue to advocate and educate. Hate and discrimination will not win.”
The Pride crosswalk, the latest in Oxford County, had been completed on Thursday. Oxford Pride organizers urged people with information about the vandalism suspects to contact provincial police.
This is not the first time Pride symbols have been vandalized in the region.
In May, a Pride crosswalk in nearby Ingersoll was targeted by vandals, prompting a police investigation. The following month, Pride flags were torn down in Norwich, a regional flashpoint for backlash to the symbol celebrating LGBTQ inclusion.
A rainbow crosswalk in Simcoe had tire marks on it shortly after being installed earlier this summer.
Last summer in Tillsonburg, Pride flags at an area business were defaced in separate incidents just two weeks apart.
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