A push to celebrate Pride Month in Canton, Massachusetts, has become the target of vandals after the owners of a well-known business say their rainbow flag was stolen and their building was damaged.
It happened at Big D's, also known as Neponset Café, on Washington Street sometime between Sunday night and Monday. The owners say the flowers and siding were ripped down and the rainbow flag was taken.
"It's a hate thing and it's just terrible" said Donna Titus, who helps run the restaurant and is a member of the LGBT community. "Not that they did it to me, but for the flag and what it represents."
The business has been in the Titus family since the 1940s. They just started to fly the rainbow flag out front this year as part of a community push to mark Pride Month. The rainbow flag project encourages local business owners to put up the flags for the month of June.
"It knocked the wind right of me," Gary Titus said. "I want to know why. Why would somebody do this?"
Canton Police have launched an investigation and are searching for surveillance video from other area businesses that might show any clues. They also dropped off a replacement flag to show their solidarity.
As investigators search for who responsible, Donna Titus posted about the incident on Facebook and received hundreds of comments of support from the community. She was blown away by all of the offers to console her family and replace their flag, which she says will be flying at Big D's long after Pride Month is over.
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"If that one goes down, we will put up another one. And if that one goes down, we'll put up another one," Titus said. "We will just keep putting it up."
Canton Police say they have received no other reports of stolen flags. Anyone with information about the incident at Big D's is asked to contact them.
