SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A good Samaritan took some time out of his workday to paint over an anti-Semitic message that was spray-painted on a homeowner’s fence in Southwest Miami-Dade.
Anthony Barroso saw the hateful message as he was on his way to work Tuesday morning and thought no family or child should see the message, so he decided to step in during his lunch break and do something about it.
“This is my normal route, and I saw this as I was waiting for the light to turn green, and I was disgusted, you know? This is my home, this is my community,” he said.
The impromptu paint job came after he noticed an anti-Semitic message on his way to work. Someone painted the message on the fence along Southwest 87th Avenue, near Miller Drive.
Barroso isn’t Jewish, but he said that shouldn’t stop him from speaking out.
“This is unacceptable. It’s completely unacceptable in our community, in any part of our community,” he said.
In recent weeks, vandals hit several parts of South Florida with hateful messages.
At Ceviches by Divino restaurant on Curtis Drive in Miami Springs, someone used a stencil to paint the N-word on the wall over Valentine’s Day weekend.
“The first thing that came to my mind was ignorance, so, parents at home, you need to get it together. Teach your kids that hating is not OK,” said a Ceviches employee.
Days later in Davie, the same anti-Semitic message was spray-painted on a Chase bank sign on University Drive.
Back in Southwest Miami-Dade, the homeowner thanked the 27-year-old. Barroso said “God bless you” before he left.
A friend of the homeowner put the finishing touches on the fence hours later.
Anti-Defamation League Florida released a statement saying in part, “These incidents may seem to target one community or another; however, when any of us are targeted by bigotry, we are all targeted — and so we must all speak out against hate, and in support of each other.”
Barroso said he’s glad there’s one less message of hate in the world.
“Things that my dad teaches me all the time, you know, you can’t expect others to do what you would do. I can’t expect others to live a moral life and spread love, but that’s what I could do,” he said.
Although no one can tell anything was written on the fence, Miami-Dade Police are investigating the anti-Semitic message.
If you have any information regarding any of these hate crimes, you are urged to call police or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous and you may be eligible for a $1,000 reward.
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