Amazon has halted construction at a facility in Windsor, Connecticut after employees found the site’s seventh case of a “rope which could be interpreted as a noose.”
According to local ABC affiliate WTNH, the first six were found at the construction site during the last week of April.
The latest incident occurred on Wednesday, when officers on a private-duty assignment were “were made aware of the discovery of a rope which could be interpreted as a noose hanging within overhead beams on the site.”
Amazon’s spokesperson Kelly Nantel told NBC, “We continue to be deeply disturbed by the incidents happening at the construction site in Windsor and have ordered its shutdown until necessary security measures can be put in place.”
According to the Hartford Courant, the ropes were hanged in an area without security cameras, and since the area has “hundreds of employees from various companies,” there is no knowledge of suspects.
A worker at the site told local news station FOX61 “I enjoy coming to work and doing my job, but I don’t enjoy experiencing racism on the job.”
The NAACP’s local chapter said it is collaborating with Amazon to discuss worker issues at the facility.
The civil rights group said in a statement, “These forms of hate crimes have had a detrimental stain on the current state of America’s reality and for them to hit so close to home and with such consistency, shows a robust disrespect for the not only human decency but also for our ancestors who lost their lives due to the hate represented within the knots in those ropes.”
“The implications of a hanging noose anywhere are unacceptable,” FBI special agent in charge David Sundberg said in a statement to the Hartford Courant. “We stand united with all our law enforcement partners across the state in rooting out and applying the rule of law to any individual or group perpetuating hateful ideology and intimidation in our communities.”
“We stand united in condemning these acts that are hateful and intolerant,” Capt. Andrew Power said in a statement. “Nooses are hateful and are intended to inflict emotional pain to persons of color.”
