Mashpee police and the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office are investigating a rash of Islamophobic vandalism that appeared in two areas in Mashpee.

On June 12 at 7:38 a.m., the Mashpee Police Department responded to reported vandalism along the intersection of Cotuit Road and Windsor Way. The anti-Muslim statement was spray-painted on a three-foot retaining wall, said Police Chief Scott Carline in a statement to the Times.

While police were investigating the vandalism on Cotuit Road, more graffiti was reported at the intersection of Emma Oakley Mills Way and Route 130. The anti-Muslim words were spray painted across a boulder.

The black spray paint on the stone covered the saying: WUN-OH-KEE GOOD EARTH, which had previously been embossed on the boulder’s surface.

Investigation ongoing

Mashpee Police Department detectives and the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office criminal investigators went to the scene of both incidents, Carline said.

A search with police tracking dogs was also attempted. But due to the length of time from the discovery, and the dissipation of the target odor, K-9 techniques were ineffective, Carline said.

“This is a very active and ongoing investigation and it would be inappropriate for me to comment further at this time until the investigation has been completed,” he said.

Director of Communications for the Sheriff’s Office K.C. Myers said the Sheriff’s Office can’t comment due to the incident being an ongoing investigation.

Other incidents on Cape Cod

In March, a building in Mashpee occupied by the Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project, the Native Land Conservancy, and Wildfire Brick Oven Pizza was defaced by graffiti, including swastika-type symbols, according to a Mashpee Police Department press release.

No damage appeared on the portion of the building where the pizza restaurant is located. The vandalism could be seen from Route 130. It was the second time the building had been targeted with graffiti, Reclamation Project founder Jessie “Little Doe” Baird, said.

In 2023, artist Craig Florence returned to his Hyannis studio after taking a short lunch break to find a racial slur spray-painted several times on a brick wall 50 feet away. In the same year, graffiti with racial slurs was found in the men’s and boys’ locker rooms at the YMCA in West Barnstable, according to YMCA President and CEO Stacie Peugh.

Rachael Devaney writes about community and culture. Reach her at rdevaney@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter: @RachaelDevaney.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Two graffiti incidents in Mashpee investigated; follows one in March