Amazon Shuts Down Site In Windsor After 7th Noose Found

WINDSOR, CT — Amazon is temporarily shutting down its construction site in Windsor after a seventh noose was found at the facility, officials announced Thursday.

The Greater Hartford NAACP addressed the latest discovery during a news conference outside the facility on Thursday afternoon.

Police first responded to the facility at 1201 Kennedy Rd. last month on a report of suspicious activity and found a noose hanging from a steel beam on the building's second floor. Police responded to the site two more times on reports of ropes being found, some of which could have been interpreted as nooses, according to officials.

The latest noose was found on Wednesday afternoon, according to WTNH News 8.

Brad Griggs, an Amazon representative, said during Thursday’s news conference that the company is temporarily shutting down the facility.

The Amazon site is expected to be shut down until at least Monday, according to WTNH News 8.

“On behalf of Amazon, we continue to be deeply disturbed by these incidents at the construction site and have ordered it shut down to make sure that the necessary safety measures can be put into place,” Griggs said. “Hate, racism and discrimination have no place in our society and certainly are not tolerated in any Amazon workplace whether under construction like the building here behind us or in our fully operational facilities.”

Griggs said Amazon will continue to work with the town, the Windsor Police Department, Connecticut State Police and the FBI to “find and hold accountable the perpetrators of these incidents and to ensure that our communities feel safe, respected and valued.”

He also said that an overall reward of $100,000 is being offered to help find the perpetrators of the incidents. Amazon increased the reward by $50,000 and the development partners at the site are matching it, according to Griggs.

Greater Hartford NAACP leader Scott X. Esdaile thanked Amazon for “upping the ante” with the reward for “bringing these individuals to justice.”

Esdaile said he was glad to see town, state and Amazon officials join them at the news conference.

“We are adamant, I’m not putting smoke and mirrors out here,” Esdaile said during the news conference. “This will not be a symbolic gesture. We’re here for substance and we’re here about real concrete relationships with meaningful and measurable results. And we’re not here to play games. The NAACP was founded in 1909 to stop the lynchings that were going on in the South and we will continue to fight against the symbols of terrorism and individuals who want to hurt and harm our people.”

Watch the full news conference, via FOX 61, here.