Black Life Matters truck vandalized in Portland: ‘Like a dagger in the heart’
It was reportedly not the first time the truck had been vandalized
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Black Life Matters truck was vandalized in Portland, Oregon overnight last Thursday, setting its owners back upwards of $50,000, according to a local report.
BLM Trucking supervisor Charles Preston told FOX 12 that the venture began in late 2021 to help create jobs for young men and keep them out of trouble.
It’s part of the Golden Opportunity Youth Association and does deliveries for companies like Amazon and Western Pacific. Despite its name, it is not part of the official "Black Lives Matter" organization.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Founder Timothy Luther McNair said he and Preston parked the truck at a Safety on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard Thursday night. The next morning, they found it vandalized and torched, with profanity spray-painted on the side.
Preston described seeing the truck as "a dagger in the heart."
"The window was broke, you couldn’t see," McNair told the station. "So, when we opened the door, all we could smell was gasoline and soot and smoke damage."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CHICAGO-AREA VANDAL SMASHES DOZENS OF CAR WINDOWS AT HONDA DEALERSHIP
The men estimated they will need between $40 to $50,000 over the next three months to recover their losses.
Despite the setback, McNair is not resentful against the culprits, telling Fox News he believes in forgiveness.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I just think it was an individual that's been misled to understand that we represent something that's not ethical. But my thing is, why go around destroying people's property?" McNair said. "That'd be like if someone's name is Muhammad, it makes them a terrorist. I don't get it."
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the company recover its losses. By Tuesday afternoon, it had raised more than $3,500 of its $50,000 goal.
The page's organizer said it was not the first time the truck had been vandalized.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Unfortunately this time, the damage was very significant and will cost upwards of $50,000," the organizer wrote. "I’m hoping we as a community in Portland can come together to help this nonprofit."
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Fox News has reached out to the Portland Police Department seeking comment on the vandalism. Portland's city council defunded its police department by about $15 million in July 2020, but has since added funding back as crime has soared across the country.