A maintenance crew immediately began the cleanup process of graffiti spray painted on the outside doors and walls of Dripping Springs City Hall.
Offensive words were sprayed in red along with other profanities and messages of racism.
Graffiti continued alongside the front of the building and to the back door. Photos by Steffany Duke
The City released this image from surveillance video of the woman believed to be responsible.
Breaking news: City Hall vandalized over night
Tuesday night, the City of Dripping Springs City Hall was the target of vandalism. Offensive words were spray-painted in red on the outside walls of City Hall focusing on racism and other messages.
“We are deeply concerned about this vandalism." Mayor Bill Foulds, Jr. said in an emailed statement. "The City Council and our City employees have always supported all people of every culture, background, and race and we do not tolerate behavior that perpetuates hate against any individual or group."
Surveillance cameras captured the crime on video, and the City released images on its Facebook page of a woman believed to be responsible of the vandalism. In a phone interview with The Century News Wednesday afternoon, Mayor Foulds added the City now believes this is an isolated event. When he drove to City Hall to view the graffiti this morning, Mayor Foulds said his feelings were this, "It wasn't a racially motivated type thing. Even though what was written there looked terrible, sounded terrible, I didn't feel like that was really what was going on. Something else was going on. It never crossed my mind that we have people in the community that would be so rude. I am very happy to find out that I think I'm right with what we have found out, and it didn't really have anything to do with race or inequality or anything along those lines. We don't feel anyone was targeted. We don't feel like there is any security threat that we need to make our staff aware of."
Due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, no suspect names have been released. The Hays County Sheriff's Office is asking anyone with information to contact their office. "We're at the early stages right now," Detective Brian Carpenter said. "We're still looking into everything. So anybody who looks at the video and can say who this is, we would like a call."
According to Mayor Foulds, many citizens have already left tips, and it is that information which makes them believe the event is isolated. The Hays County Sherriff’s office can be reached at 512-393-7800. You can also contact Crime Stoppers anonymously by calling 1-800-324-8466 or you can submit your information on-line to Tip Line P3tips.com or through the Hays County Sheriff’s Office app.
The City is in the process of removing the graffiti. Maintenance workers were on site throughout the morning and by 11 a.m. has removed most of the spray paint from the glass entrance doors. The City also received numerous offers of help from the community to assist with the cleanup process. One company donated sandblasting services to the City, and they expect the spray paint to be fully removed very soon.