Amazon is offering a $100,000 reward for info leading to those responsible.
A $100,000 reward is being offered for information leading to those responsible after seven nooses were discovered at the construction site of an Amazon distribution center in Windsor, Connecticut, in the past month.
The first incident was reported to police on April 27, after a hangman’s noose was found hanging from a steel beam on the second floor of the building, according toNew Haven ABC affiliate WTNH.
Two days later, five more ropes that resembled a noose were found on several floors throughout the building, WTNH reported.
The latest noose was discovered Wednesday afternoon at the site, hanging on overhead beams, according to WTNH. The incident occurred during a lunch break, when many workers had left the area, police said.
The construction site will be shut down until at least Monday, as Amazon works with law enforcement to install new security measures, officials said during a press briefing Thursday.
Amazon said it is “deeply disturbed” by the incidents. It increased its reward for information that would identify those responsible to $100,000 from $50,000 following the discovery of the seventh noose.
“Hate, racism or discrimination have no place in our society and are certainly not tolerated by Amazon — whether at a site under construction like this one, or at one that we operate,” Amazon spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said in a statement. “We are committed to working with the Town and Windsor Police Department, as well as our development partners, to hold the perpetrators accountable and ensure that all members of our community feel valued, respected and safe.”
Connecticut State Police and FBI agents were on-site Thursday, as the agency continues to lend resources to the Windsor Police Department’s ongoing investigation.
“The implications of a hanging noose anywhere are unacceptable and will always generate the appropriate investigative response,” FBI Special Agent David Sundberg said in a statement to WTNH.
Scot X Esdaile, president of the Connecticut chapter of the NAACP, said he has been disappointed by the response so far.
“We’ve been striving to get on the site, to talk to individuals to make sure that they were safe. And still, we have not gotten onto the site yet,” Esdaile said during Thursday’s press briefing. “It’s imperative … that we make sure that those individuals are safe and that they’re out of harm’s way.”
Carlos Best, an ironworker at the construction site, said he’s “seen a lot of racism” on the job, including “racial remarks” made about Black people.
“I’m here today because I’ve seen a lot out here on the construction sites. This is not the only construction site that these things occur on, and it has to stop sooner or later,” he said at the briefing. “I enjoy coming to work and doing my job, but I don’t enjoy experiencing racism on the job.”
He said he hoped that the person behind the incidents “can grow a conscience.”
Windsor Police Chief Donald Melanson told reporters Thursday that they are tracking down some leads on the latest incident.
ABC News’ Will McDuffie contributed to this report.
