Police say a pride flag was found burned on the lawn of a home in Rye Saturday morning.
While police are still investigating, the executive director of The LOFT LGBT Community Center says it appears to have been a hate crime.
"The burning of a pride flag is without a doubt a hate crime. It's not only damaging personal property, but it's damaging -- it's yet more damage to our community and the belief that everybody is entitled to equality," says Judy Troilo, with The LOFT.
The flag was purchased through the Rye 'pRYEde Community Group' who, in conjunction with Rye High School's Gay Straight Alliance, sold the flags for a few weeks in May.
While the initial response to the incident was shock and anger, pRYEde Community Group co-founder Dr. Genevieve Weber says the community has since taken a more proactive approach.
"So, now we have shifted into this action-oriented space and we have reopened our flag store, and we have already sold over a dozen," says Weber. "We've had a few hundred dollars in donations from families in town and a lot of, 'How can we get involved?'"
The Westchester County Human Rights Commission wants residents to contact them if they were a victim of a hate crime or witnessed one. More information can be found on the
website and
Facebook page.