A gay high school student's suburban Chicago home was targeted by vandals who placed a “for-sale sign” against a tree with “a toll-free suicide prevention hotline number, an obscenity and ‘KYS' — a known acronym for kill yourself,” written on it.
The vandals also stuck several hundred plastic forks in the lawn.
The Daily Herald reports: ‘[Scott] Nelles said his daughter, who will be a Barrington High School junior, was harassed on social media a week earlier for being openly lesbian. He said his family has been gratified by the outpouring support from fellow residents and the diligence of police investigators working the case. Some residents even dropped off items showing their support, including rainbow pinwheels and a heart-shaped balloon. He said the message that was part of the vandalism was most upsetting to him and his wife, Sharon.'
Said Nelles to the paper: “Forks in the yard, that's like a prank. It sounds to me like it's today's toilet paper and, actually, probably a lot easier to clean up than toilet paper. But the fact there was a sign in the yard and it had the suicide prevention hotline and had written ‘Go (expletive) KYS,' or go kill yourself, that's a pretty clear message. And a pretty clear message of hate.”
Neighbors have dropped off messages of support to the family, planting rainbow pinwheels and balloons in the yard. Community officials have denounced the hate crime.
