ATLANTA — A man authorities believe vandalized the Rainbow Crosswalk by spray-painting a swastika onto it is now in custody, according to Atlanta Police.
APD initially said Friday afternoon they were conducting an investigation after a person barricaded themselves in Midtown in the 700 block of Peachtree Street.
In a later update, they provided more details about the investigation. APD said they went to apartment of the suspect around noon and tried to contact him. However, they were initially unsuccessful.
"The SWAT Team was requested to the scene and continued efforts to contact the suspect," police said.
Eventually, they said, the person contacted police and told them he would exit the apartment. He was then taken into custody.
The 11Alive crew who went to the scene learned police asked everyone on the 8th floor of the apartment building, the Solace at Peachtree Apartments, to leave as they conducted their investigation.
As for the vandalism, APD said they believe the suspect spray-painted a swastika onto the Rainbow Crosswalk at 10th Street and Piedmont Avenue on two separate occasions.
Police previously said that on Wed., August 17, they responded to the area after receiving a report of someone spray-painting the hate symbol onto the crosswalk. Crews cleaned it up, but on Friday, officers were called back to the intersection for another incident. They said surveillance video also captured images of the suspect.
APD mentioned there were similar incidents in the area, and investigators were working to determine if the same suspect was involved.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta issued a statement condemning the vandalism and said that there was vandalism on Wednesday as well at the site.
“The Atlanta Fed can confirm a swastika symbol was painted on a monument outside our Midtown Atlanta building at the corner of 10th and Peachtree Streets Wednesday evening and then again Friday morning. We are thankful for the quick response of our Atlanta Fed law enforcement and facilities teams. We strongly condemn this act of hatred and antisemitism," the statement said.
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