Officials at a pharmaceutical plant in North Carolina have launched an investigation into the discovery of two nooses at a construction site in the past two weeks.
Merck and local authorities in Durham County are looking into the incidents, The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Monday. Plant management notified employees of the first noose just over a week ago. The second noose was reported to the Durham County Sheriff’s Office last week.
David Bowser, a spokesman for the Durham County Sheriff’s Office, said Monday there was “insufficient evidence to determine whether this incident was motivated by bias or hate.” Bowser said investigators have not found any witnesses with information about what happened, and that the investigation is ongoing.
In April, six nooses were discovered at the construction site of an Amazon distribution center in Connecticut. Loops of rope have long been used to intimidate African-Americans because they evoke lynchings.
Merck's Durham plant was one of two selected to help manufacture the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine earlier this year.
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