Gigi's Playhouse, a nationwide non-profit, opened a facility in Rosedale, California, only to witness a vandal deface posters featuring smiling children with Down syndrome, One News Now reported in a June 4 story.
Nicole Harrigan, the board president for Gigi’s Playhouse, tells One News Now that authorities are charging a suspect with a hate crime for the “awful words” and vulgar comments that were spray-painted on the property.
“They gave us a call, and let us know that they were able to identify a suspect from the video footage that they pulled from one of our neighboring businesses,” she says. “They were able to locate and arrest him.”
Harrigan said weeks ago that the vandal’s hateful message was met with kindness from the community, including financial support, and a local church cleaned up the repaired the damage.
GiGi’s Playhouse is named after the daughter of founder Nancy Gianni.
