Amazon was forced to halt construction of a Connecticut distribution center again after an eighth noose was found on the site in just a month,
The internet sales giant shut down building work on its new fulfillment center in Windsor, Connecticut on Wednesday after the discovery was made.
It previously paused work on May 19 after the discovery of the seventh noose on site.
Windsor Police Chief Donald Melanson said the eighth noose was found Wednesday morning by a worker on the fifth floor of the construction site.
Melanson said that area had not been worked on in two weeks, leading police to believe the noose has been there for that period of time.
The noose was made in red rope and was entangled with yellow electrical cables, NBC Connecticut reported.
‘This was clearly a noose,’ Melanson said.
Cameras were installed to monitor doors and stairwells after the seventh noose was found on May 19, but investigators say the construction site is too large to be adequately covered with surveillance cameras in its entirety.
An eighth noose (pictured) was found on the premises of the Connecticut Amazon construction site. The noose was made of red rope and was entangled with yellow electrical cables
Amazon offered a $100,000 reward leading to the arrest of the people responsible after the seventh noose was discovered on May 19. A noose discovered earlier on the site is pictured
Nooses were used to lynch black people in southern states, with racial equality experts saying they remain a potent symbol of hate and violence towards black people.
Scot X. Esdaile, president of the Connecticut NAACP, said on Wednesday that the nooses are a threat to the black community.
‘It’s a direct threat on your life,’ Esdaile said. ‘This is a serious, white supremacist message being sent to our entire community. It’s sick. It’s unacceptable. We demand better.’
The eighth noose was discovered on the same day the NAACP was scheduled to meet with several workers to talk about their safety but the meetings were cancelled after the site was shutdown, the Hartford Courant reported.
The local NAACP chapter said they have been in contact with several black workers at the site.
They have called on Amazon to keep the site closed so the FBI can investigate properly, but it was scheduled to reopen for construction work on Thursday.
A $100,000 reward has been offered for information on the person or people who are leaving the nooses at the site.
‘Hate, racism or discrimination have no place in our society and are certainly not tolerated in any Amazon workplace — whether it be under construction like this one, or fully operational,’ a spokesperson for Amazon said in a statement. ‘Today, the site was shut down to allow the FBI to continue their investigation following the discovery of a noose found under electrical materials,’
‘We will continue to work with all levels of law enforcement as well as our development partners, to hold the perpetrators accountable and ensure that all members of our community feel valued, respected and safe,’ the statement added.
The eighth noose was discovered on the same day members of the Connecticut NAACP (pictured) were scheduled to meet with several workers to talk about their safety
The Connecticut facility (pictured) takes up over 3.6 million square feet and has ‘hundreds of contractors coming in and out hourly during peak work hours’
The site had previously been shut down over the weekend so that cameras and other safety precautions could be put in place after the discovery of a seventh noose on May 19.
Construction was temporarily halted, but not all parts of the massive building are covered, Melanson added.
The site takes up over 3.6 million square feet and has ‘hundreds of contractors coming in and out hourly during peak work hours,’ Melanson said.
Police say the first noose was discovered on April 27. Five more ropes were found dotted around the building two days after that, on April 29.
Five uniformed Windsor police officers have been assigned to walk through the site, talking to workers and and keeping an eye out, CBS News reported.
The nooses have all been discovered in areas that do not have any surveillance cameras, police said
Amazon offered a $100,000 reward leading to the arrest of the people responsible after the seventh noose was discovered on May 19.
After the first noose appeared on April 27, police were called back to the site the next day after reports that another rope had been thrown around a beam, but police said the second incident was ‘not a noose.’
The following day – April 29 – five more ‘ropes that could be interpreted as nooses’ were found throughout the site.
The site is expected to reopen on Friday.