Police have reported the racist spray-painting of a Bangor man’s car on Friday to the Maine attorney general’s office as a potential hate crime.
The attorney general’s office investigates hate crimes and brings charges under the Maine Civil Rights Act. Marc Malon, a spokesperson for the office, confirmed on Monday that Bangor police had reported the vandalism of Tahmoor Khan’s car to the office.
The perpetrators allegedly vandalized Khan’s car with multiple uses of the N-word, including a call to kill all Black people. The phrase “KKK Supporter” and “KKK” were spray-painted on other parts of the car, seemingly in reference to the white supremacist group the Ku Klux Klan.
Bangor police responded to vandalism, which occurred at a house on Bolling Drive, at around 10:25 p.m. on Friday, Sgt. Wade Betters said Monday. They detained two 15-year-old females shortly after.
Both were issued summonses for criminal mischief, a Class D crime, and they were released to a parent, Betters said. Bangor police’s criminal investigation division is looking into whether their actions violated the Maine Civil Rights Act.
A final report on the investigation will be sent to the attorney general when the investigation is completed, Betters said.
Khan, who is of Pakistani descent, first posted about the vandalism on Facebook on Saturday morning, with the post quickly spreading across Maine over the weekend. Hermon-based Darkside Mobile Auto Detailing stepped in to remove the graffiti for free after hearing about what happened, Khan said in a recent Facebook post.
The city of Bangor condemned the vandalism on Sunday, saying that the City Council “categorically” condemns what occurred and wanted to make clear that such behavior did not represent the Bangor community.
A Bangor police spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.