A sign outside Focus on the Family headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado, was vandalized with graffiti on Thanksgiving, five days after the Club Q mass shooting that occurred in the same city.
The graffiti implied that the Christian organization was complicit in the shooting that left five people dead and 17 injured at the LGBT club. The graffiti read, “Their blood is on your hands five lives taken.”
A piece of metal was also left below the sign that had 2 Corinthians 11:14-15 written on it.
Police say that the incident occurred in the early hours of Thursday morning, KKTV reported. Attempts were made to cover up the graffiti with cardboard boxes and some tarp, but it had fallen off by Friday, leaving some of the writing visible.
Focus on the Family President Jim Daly released a statement on Friday regarding the vandalism and the shooting.
“We recognize the community is hurting in the aftermath of the reckless and violent actions of a very disturbed individual,” said Daly via the Denver Post “This is a time for prayer, grieving and healing, not vandalism and the spreading of hate.”
Daly also urged everyone to pray for those affected by the shooting and for peace.
The Colorado Peoples Press tweeted an image of the vandalized sign and a letter from the Front Range Queer Community, who claimed responsibility for the vandalism. The letter also accused the organization of promoting anti-LGBT rhetoric because of their family values advocacy and opposition to sex education and gender ideology.
“Before proceeding we feel it is our responsibility to acknowledge that we acted without consent from the families of these people,” the letter stated. “It is no accident that this happened in Colorado Springs, a city steeped in homophobia, transphobia, and white supremacy.”
No arrests have been made as of yet.
You can follow Ethan Letkeman on Twitter at @EthanLetkeman.
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