PARIS — Police are seeking the person or persons responsible for spray-paint vandalism at several businesses in the past month.

Officer Hartley “Skip” Mowatt of the Paris Police Department said the vandalism was first noted on July 28 when officer Nate Bowie found buildings at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School on Main Street tagged, and probably just missed the culprits when he arrived at 12:45 a.m.

“When he drove in, he could smell the paint,” Mowatt said.

In addition to the school, graffiti has shown up at the Don Gouin Athletic Complex on Alpine Street, and Save-A-Lot, Family Dollar and the building containing ColorTyme and Betty’s Laundry, all on Main Street. Mowatt said FairPoint Communications on Fair Street in Norway is also tagged.

The graffiti ranges from depictions of faces to statements. Written on the school were the phrases “Peace is no longer a way of life but just a cruel fashion statement” and “Seperation (sic) of church and state.” Graffiti on the FairPoint Communications building declares, “You will never catch me.”

Other vandalism includes the initials HBC, which Mowatt says stands for Harrison Boys Club.

“That’s a bunch of kids pretending they’re a gang,” he said.

Mowatt said the graffiti has been removed, but police have been taking down the amount of damage in order to seek restitution from the vandals.

Chief Robert Federico of the Norway Police Department said he has not seen any recent tagging in town, and graffiti has also not been reported in Oxford. Mowatt said he believes the same group of people is responsible for all of the spray painting incidents in Paris.

Anyone with information on the vandalism is asked to call the Paris Police Department at 743-7448.

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