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Richmond police are investigating the vandalism of a vehicle that was spray-painted with an anti-gay message as a hate crime.

Between 9:30 and 10 p.m. Tuesday, which was Halloween, someone with white spray paint tagged the side of a vehicle with the words “GAY MOVE DIE” in the 3400 block of Delaware Avenue in the city’s North Highland Park neighborhood, police said.

“The Richmond Police Department stands with the LGBTQ community in condemning what happened last night,” Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham said in a statement. “I have directed the department’s LGBTQ liaison, Capt. Dan Minton, to monitor the progress of the investigation to keep everyone informed.”

Police declined to say why they believe the graffiti was a hate crime or whether it was directed against a member of the gay community.

“We don’t profile victims,” police spokesman Gene Lepley said.

James Millner, president of Virginia Pride, said the victim is a known gay man whose vehicle was targeted.

“This was certainly not done by a random graffiti artist,” Millner said. “This man is known to be gay, and the message on the car says ‘Gay Move Die’ — it’s a death threat. That’s not random graffiti trying to be destructive.”