Employees of a downtown business say a vandal defaced a mural of pop star Tina Turner with a red swastika outside Static Age Records, a downtown shop, earlier this week.
After the store closed on the evening of Dec. 23, Static Age employees say someone drew the symbol of Nazism, though incorrectly, with three of the four arms pointing counterclockwise. The swastika centers on the face of Turner, who is black.
Before store owner Jesse McSwain could address the situation, someone unconnected to the store apparently covered the mural in a black sheet. Static Age employees then alerted the hate symbol to Asheville Police Department and the Southern Poverty Law Center.
