The Home Depot has stopped selling rope by the spools in the light of customers made nooses out of the rope. As a result, police are currently investigating the situation.
All of Home Depots’ locations in the United States have stopped selling it by the spool. The company will now sell rope in pre-cut pieces in the hope that this will never happen again. Overall, if the customer needs a different length that they do not have, they can ask an associate to cut the desired length.
“Unfortunately, we’ve had some instances where spooled rope was used to create hate symbols and we’re not going to tolerate it,” Home Depot spokesperson, Margaret Smith, told The Daily Mail. “Out of an abundance of caution, we temporarily removed spooled rope from our aisles.”
The Most Recent Incident
On June 7 at 11:30 A.M., Hattie Leonard found nooses hanging from spools of rope at a North Carolina Home Depot.
“I was shocked, I was like Oh my God,” Leonard told Charlotte’s WCNC. ‘”It’s unbelievable. It’s just one of those things you don’t expect to see.” Leonard took pictures of the two nooses and shared it with the news station.
Furthermore, the company released a statement to the news station. “The Home Depot does not tolerate racism or discrimination, period,” the company wrote in a statement. “We’re appalled and disturbed by this incident. We’re investigating it diligently and are working with law enforcement.”
Other Incidents
This instance isn’t the first time that someone made nooses at the store. There were at least another two incidents across the country. The first reported incident was in 2016. A Home Depot employee in the Pittsburgh area found a noose hanging in one of the aisles.
“If you look at the rope you can tell it took more than just the 15 minutes or 20 minutes to put it together,” the unidentified employee told the city’s local CBS news station. “We were wondering, it couldn’t have been a customer. But my main concern is there any type of threat against the customers the employees or what.”
“This has to stop and nobody wants to work in this type of environment,” he continued. “Everyone needs to stand up and say enough is enough.” The employee added that corporate will have to do “serious training” with their employees.
Then in July 2019, two sisters found nooses hanging in the aisle of a Wilmington, Delaware store. The person who created the noose came forward to authorities, Delaware Online reported. The customer in question said that they were shopping for ropes for a canopy. They told investigators that it was “strictly for work purposes” and there was “no racial motive” behind creating the noose.
H/T The Daily Mail
