BOSTON — Boston Police and the National Parks Service are investigating an incident outside the Museum of African American History on Beacon Hill as a hate crime.
Investigators claimed around 8 a.m. Wednesday morning, an employee of the museum noticed a package at their front door opened. The materials inside were found scattered and burnt in an alleyway nearby.
Boston police released a photo of a suspect believed to be connected.
Thursday, they said, “The suspect is described as an older white male, observed wearing a gray ‘Stowe VT Vermont’ crewneck sweatshirt, blue jeans, blue sneakers, and a dark colored baseball cap as well as a camouflage-style Bruins baseball cap. The suspect was also observed wearing earbuds with a device clipped to the front of his sweatshirt.”
Ring camera captured by a resident nearby shows an individual leaving the alleyway near the museum’s entrance around 12:30 am Wednesday.
The museum’s CEO and president Noelle Trent has been working with investigators ever since.
“If you value this history, if you value this work, we’re asking you to step up and join us in this fight,” she said. “We are deeply familiar with this happening.”
In 2018, Trent said their Nantucket location was targeted with hateful graffiti.
She continued, “Sometimes that resistance has been verbal, but it also has been physical, meaning the destruction of the buildings that represent the institutions that are valuable to them.”
Boston police and the NPS are still investigating a potential motive. The incident comes just weeks before Juneteenth and the museum’s celebration.
“We are dedicated to telling these stories,” said Trent in the museum that highlights African American history. “We have actively resisted this in the past, and we will do so in this moment as well.”
Police are asking for anyone with information about the individual in the released photo to contact investigators.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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