Racist spray-painting suspect arrested

San Francisco residents redeemed themselves by altering one of the a racist graffiti.

SAN FRANCISCO'S police department is thanking the public for their help after an arrest was made Tuesday in a vandalism case that is being considered a hate crime. 62-year-old John Schenone of San Francisco has been charged with five counts of felony vandalism and five counts of felony hate crime after it is believed he's the person responsible for spray-painting the words 'NO MORE CHINESE' in multiple locations Monday in the Portola and Bayview districts.

As KRON 4 reported Tuesday, the graffiti raised serious concerns in the neighborhoods "about a growing racial divide in the city."

Per a release from the SFPD:

"On the morning of September 7, 2015... the words “NO MORE CHINESE” ... [were found] sprayed in orange paint at the following 6 locations: Palega Park, Somerset Street/Silver Avenue at a vacant grocery store, University Street/Bacon Street on the fence of a vacant lot, the 100 Block of Brussels Street on a house under construction, the 100 Block of Brussels Street on a house for sale, and the 1300 Block of Silver on an office building. This incident was immediately determined to be hate motivated and investigated by SFPD’s Special Investigations Division Hate Crime Unit. SID investigators were immediately able to identify a vehicle and person of interest. A crime alert was subsequently distributed throughout the department in an effort to identify the suspect in these incidents."

Suspect John Schenone

RELATED: Sign of hate mars neighborhood

Then on Tuesday, September 8, officers spotted an individual and vehicle matching the description from the crime alert, and detained him. Based on evidence they were able to make the arrest, and Schenone was booked in the county jail.

San Francisco Supervisor Julie Christensen issued a statement saying the suspect was arrested on Tuesday night. She credited “the diligent and swift actions of our city staff.” Christensen said, “Disrespect for our fellow residents and visitors, especially based on ethnicity, is not and will not be tolerated in San Francisco.”

This was the latest of a recent series of incidents that could be linked to racist motives.

• On Sept. 1, vandals broke into the Saint Paul Tabernacle Baptist Church, where they covered the walls with what was described as "hate-filled and racist graffiti." The office of the church's pastor, Rev. Greg Valentine, was also vandalized, large mirrors were smashed, and bleach was poured onto every single pew. 

• Less than a month ago, Twitch founder Justin Kan had the phrase "F**k you Gook!" written in black marker on his garage in the up-and-coming Duboce Triangle neighborhood by a white, bearded stranger. The crime was caught on security camera installed by Kan. 

• Also this past August, in the predominantly Latino neighborhood called The Mission District, someone spray painted "White Power" on two Latino-themed murals and a swastika on the nearby McDonalds.

Do you think that some San Francisco residents are starting to feel uncomfortable with being a minority? In fact, they already are. In San Francisco, whites make up about 48% of the population according to the 2010 Census. Asians make up a third of the city; Latinos are 15% and African Americans about 6%.

San Francisco is just a microcosm of the demographic shift that is happening all over California. On July 1, 2014, there were about 14.99 million Latinos living in California, edging out the 14.92 million whites in the state.

RELATED: America's challenge is to learn to live with itself

If whites are feeling edgy now, imagine how they'll feel in 2040 when demographers estimate whites will be less than 50% in the United States.

I may be wrong, but, let's assume that the comparatively benign (compared to cross-burning and beatings) graffiti in San Francisco was done by whites. If that sentiment can arise in tolerant, liberal, diversity-celebrating San Francisco, imagine what can happen in less open-minded parts of our nation. Throw in a political campaign based on racist rhetoric stoking the fears that have thus far been suppressed, it's like lighting a match to leaking gasoline. It all adds up to a dangerous formula for a very heated 14 months ahead of us in the short term; and the potential for a nation divided in the long-term. 

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Message of hate mars San Francisco neighborhood

Neighbors changed this message to "(heart) more Chinese" before city workers painted it over.

SOMEBODY is spray painting "No More Chinese" in the Portola district of San Francisco. 

The Portola neighborhood has changed in the last few years with Asians making up more than half of the households. That apparently, doesn't sit well with some of the old-timers. 

Over the Labor Day Weekend, someone scrawled this anti-Chinese message throughout the Portola district, one of the few remaining neighborhoods in the city where homes are still affordable for middle-class families.

It is being investigated by the police not just as acts of vandalism, but as hate crimes. The paint color, the message and the writing style seems to indicate it was done by the same person.

The graffiti took place Sunday, according to a police statement, with the message spray-painted at several locations in the Portola neighborhood, just south of where Highway 101 and Interstate 280 merge.

Among the targets were the Palega Recreation Center, an out-of-business supermarket, the 100 block of Brussels Street and the 1300 block of Silver Avenue.

Vickie Chau saw the offensive graffiti and posted photos of them on Facebook. Phil Yu of Angry Asian Man blog reposted the photos on Monday. Her post has been shared over 1,100 times as of Monday afternoon.

“I’ve seen graffiti in my neighborhood before, but never with this type of message,” Chau said. “Overall based on the messages I’ve received, the community has been supportive and want to find the culprit.”

Chau said some neighbors have painted over the “NO” and left “MORE CHINESE” to make the message more positive.

Police spokeswoman Grace Gatpandanm a Filipina/American, said they are handling this as a vandalism and hate crime investigation. Hate crimes carry heavier fines and jail terms.

UPDATE: Neighbors respond.

What's most disturbing about this incident is that this is happening in San Francisco with one of the largest concentrations of Asians of any U.S. mainland city. You would think that anyone - ANYONE - in San Francisco would have social interactions with Asians, in particularly Chinese, since they make up the largest Asian group in the city.

If this type of sentiment is being expressed in a city that is supposedly Asian-friendly, imagine what can happen in other cities? Even more hateful messages or deeds against Asians is even more likely since 2012 when immigrants from Asia became the largest number of immigrants entering the United States.

Anyone with information regarding the graffiti is encouraged to contact the SFPD Anonymous Tip Line at 415-575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411 with SFPD at the beginning of the message.

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