Police have yet to identify a man who spray-painted swastikas and racist messages in a Kanawha City neighborhood nearly three weeks ago.
At about 4 a.m. on Aug. 19, someone vandalized sidewalks and driveways on Roosevelt Avenue, located near the Kmart on MacCorkle Avenue.
The graffiti included swastikas, along with messages that read "white pride," "14/88" and "TWP," said resident Pam Burka. "I think I counted up at least 12 markings that he had done," Burka said.
The code "14/88" is often used by white supremacists, according to the Hate Symbols Database, a collection by the Anti-Defamation League. Fourteen is short for a slogan consisting of 14 words: "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children." The number 88 refers to the Nazi slogan "Heil Hitler," according to the database, because both words begin with the eighth letter of the alphabet.
Though the intended meaning of "TWP' is unknown, it may stand for Traditionalist Worker Party. The organization advocates racial purity and targets the Jewish community, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
A resident's surveillance camera recorded video of a man as he marked a neighbor's driveway in paint.
Another neighbor found an empty bottle of spray paint next to a nearby McDonald's. Police tested the bottle for usable fingerprints but found nothing, according to an email from Sgt. J.A. Hunt, assistant chief of detectives for the Charleston Police Department.
If found, the man could be charged with destruction of property, Hunt said.
Kevin Machusak, the neighborhood watch captain, said the surveillance video recorded a bald man with a large build. He said the man is tall, and that he was hunched over as he walked down the street.
"Apparently the video has a good enough picture of him to where, if they would find him, they could identify him," Machusak said.
Before city workers cleaned up the graffiti, neon green spray paint marked driveways, pavement and road signs between 65th and 66th Street.
Resident Meredith Shdeed uploaded pictures of the graffiti to a message board used by the neighborhood.
Shdeed, who is Lebanese, said the graffiti made her both angry and sad. She moved to the neighborhood 32 years ago - a week after she was born.
"I've never seen anything like that," she said. "This neighborhood's always been so diverse and always comes together in crisis."
Anyone with information about the vandalism can contact Charleston police at 304-348-6460 or charlestonwvpolice.org/tip.html.
Reach Giuseppe Sabella at giuseppe.sabella@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5189 or follow @Gsabella on Twitter.