PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A Rhode Island city employee has been terminated and another suspended after someone reported finding a noose in a vehicle on a job site.

A spokeswoman for Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza said Monday that the report is under investigation by the Department of Human Resources and a hearing with union officials is planned.

It’s unclear if the vehicle belonged to the employee or the city.

President of the NAACP Providence Branch James Vincent says he was contacted by a city employee who wanted to make sure the organization was aware the noose was found and had been reported.

Vincent says hearing about the noose brings back the painful history of black people being lynched in the U.S.

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