After a Pride flag was vandalized outside gourmet food market Russ & Mimi’s in Roslindale, Mass., the local community, along with Boston Mayor Wu, came out in support for the owner: “Acts like this don’t represent who we are.”

Reports Boston.com:

Kelly Walsh, owner of gourmet foods market Russ & Mimi’s, realized her business had been targeted when she arrived at the store Oct. 4 and saw that the flag had been knocked off the flagpole. The flag was discovered the next day in a nearby alley, according to The Boston Globe.

The damage to the pole, which was attached to a wall, gave Walsh good reason to believe the act was intentional. Upon closer inspection, the pole’s metal brackets and anchors had been ripped out of the wall, the Globe reported.

“I can’t believe this happened here, this is not the neighborhood where I expect something like this to happen,” Walsh told the Globe.

Community members first reached out on Facebook to show support for Walsh, and the next day, city officials made an in-person visit. Mayor Michelle Wu and Boston City Councilor Enrique Pepén met with Walsh at Russ & Mimi’s during the Roslindale Day Parade to make it clear that they stand by her and the LGBTQ population.

“There’s no place for hate in Roslindale, or anywhere in our city,” Pepén said in an Instagram post. “Acts like this don’t represent who we are.”

Read the complete Boston.com story here.

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