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Arlington police chief calls graffiti found on businesses 'hate crime'

Arlington police Chief Will Johnson said spray-painted symbols were found on several businesses. Police are investigating the incident as a hate crime.

Several Arlington businesses, including a car wash and a restaurant, were tagged with swastikas and other racist images, police say. 

The spray-painted symbols and words targeting minorities have been removed from buildings and signs in the 1800 block of East Arkansas Lane. 

Arlington police Chief Will Johnson scheduled a news conference Tuesday afternoon to call out the racist behavior. 

Johnson said he considers the graffiti a hate crime. He wants to inoculate the community from this type of behavior. And he wants the public’s help to find out who did this so they can be brought to justice.

“It’s clear to me that it was a hate crime and it was biased based symbols in words," Johnson said during the news conference.

He said whoever painted the symbols was clearly "trying to prompt a community reaction." 

"We will aggressively pursue any investigative leads in order to try and bring this to a successful prosecution," Johnson said. 

Investigators are looking for any witnesses, any surveillance video, anything that could help them find out who painted the images. 

Whoever it is they could face a criminal mischief charge with a hate crime enhancement. The crime could also be reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

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