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The marks spotted on the likeness of King, the civil rights leader who advocated for human rights until his assassination in 1968, hurt local neighborhood residents such as Mary Simmons.
“It’s just so painful,” Simmons said. “I want to cry every time I think about it.”
Authorities were notified about the hate-motivated symbols on the front of the statue in Martin Luther King Jr. Park on Friday at about 3:18 p.m.
“The incident is being investigated as a possible hate crime and there are currently no suspects nor suspect information available,” Richard Mejia, an LBPD spokesman, said in an email.