CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KFVS) – A Cape Girardeau business sounds the alarm after vandals deface a piece of art showing support for Pride Month.
“So last night, some looked like young adults vandalized and destroyed our Pride display that we had,” said Leslie Phillips, store manager of Annie Laurie’s in downtown Cape Girardeau.
She showed Heartland News a video from their Ring camera that caught a group of people ripping a rainbow-colored banner off a tree in front of the store.
Phillips said she does not know why they targeted her business.
“It’s hard to say. I mean, they looked young, but it’s Pride Month, and it’s hard not to think that this was a target against the LGBTQ+ community and our business for supporting them,” she said.
Store Associate Ashley Sweet said watching the video brought her to tears.
“I’m not normally a big crier, but I got pretty teary-eyed,” Sweet explained. “I think it’s pretty ugly for people to act like that. We always only just shared love here, spread love.”
The Pride Month display was a community art project.
“It takes a lot of hours, and we just thought it was a cute and unique way to show our support for Pride,” Phillips said.
“Probably over 60 hours were spent making these granny squares, and it was just really crushing to see it get torn down,” said Maggie Shelton, a local artist.
In this photo, you can see Shelton attaching the crocheted artwork to the tree.
Now, you can see pieces of what is left of it on the ground.
“I think it just determines me to want to create more,” she said.
Even though hours of work are now destroyed, Shelton hopes to continue using her art to spread love.
“I do think it’s like a good outcome if this is bringing people together,” she added.
Here is a list of options to report any acts of vandalism in the City of Cape Girardeau:
- Leave an anonymous tip with the police department
- Text 573-314-5575 to report to the city manager/city council
- Use cityofcape.org/report for urgent hotlines and general online reporting
- And of course, 911 for immediate threats to life and property
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