Amazon closing Connecticut site after another noose found

by Morgan Gstalter - 05/21/21 7:32 AM ET

Amazon announced on Thursday that it was shutting down a construction site in Windsor, Conn., after a seventh noose was discovered.

The most recent incident on Wednesday comes almost a month after the first noose was found hanging from a steel beam on April 27, Windsor Police Capt. Andrew Power said in a statement.

The noose was taken to a lab for testing, according to FOX61 News.

Since then, five more ropes “that could be interpreted as nooses” have been identified around the site.

“Some of them were just rope that was tied at the end and some were twisted in a manner to look like a noose,” said Power.

There has been a lack of leads due to the hundreds of employees working on the building and the lack of surveillance cameras near the discovery sites, police said.

During a press conference with the Connecticut NAACP, Amazon said it has since shut down the site in response.

“We continue to be deeply disturbed by the incidents happening at the construction site in Windsor and have ordered it is shut down until necessary security measures can be put in place,” Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantell said in a statement. “Hate, racism or discrimination have no place in our society and are certainly not tolerated in any Amazon workplace — whether at a site under construction like this one, or at one that we operate.”

The NAACP is meeting with workers to discuss the crimes and listen to their concerns.

Connecticut NAACP State President Scot X Esdaile said at the news conference that they will not stop until the suspect is brought to justice, saying the placement of a noose is a “direct threat to someone’s life.”

“The NAACP knows what the showing of a noose is,” he said. “The NAACP understands and we’ve been in situations where our churches were bombed, children were killed, families were destroyed. We’re not tolerating this nonsense.”

The FBI has also joined the hate crime investigation, Special Agent in Charge David Sundberg told the outlet.

Both Amazon and the general contractor operating the construction site have offered a $50,000 reward for any information leading to the identification of a suspect.