Good samaritan scrubs away hateful graffiti at Colorado Springs park

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Police are investigating after a local park was subject to vandalism in the form of hateful messages.

Graffiti against Black people, Jewish people, and the LGBTQ community was sprayed across sidewalks and signs at the Roswell Park of Fillmore over the weekend.

The vandalism was reported to police on Saturday.

One man -- who didn't want to us to use his name for fear of retaliation -- cleaned up the spray paint Sunday morning before the city graffiti team could get to it.

"I grew up here and I know that our community is better than that," He told KRDO. "And I know that there's a lot of love here, and I don't want that to get washed out."

The man told us he hopes his quick actions make a statement about what Colorado Springs stands for.

"Where you see the sort of seeds of the weeds if fascism, where you see the emergence of hate, you need to nip that in the butt," he said. "And not in a way that creates more hate, but in a way that heals the community."

City officials told KRDO the city graffiti team cleans up around 8,000 tags each year.

If you have any information on who is responsible for the vandalism at Roswell Park, you're asked to call police.