People living in a gated community in Scottsdale, Arizona, woke up Tuesday morning to discover the ominous words 'Ebola Quarantine Zone' spray-painted on one of the outside entrance walls. The barrier surrounding the Rio Montana subdivision in north Scottsdale was vandalized sometime Monday night. Those living in the neighbhrood were not amused to see the writing suggesting that their quiet community has been touched by the deadly virus, which claimed its first victim on US soil as recently as last week. Scroll down for video . Gallows humor: Residents in Scottsdale, Arizona, woke up Tuesday to find the words 'Ebola quarantine zone' spray-painted on the fence surrounding their gated community . Under the cover of darkness: The vandals behind the disturbing graffiti defaced the wall sometime Monday night . Homeowners Association President John Melling jumped into action and quickly had the upsetting graffiti covered up with a coat of brown paint, AZCentral.com reported. ‘It's not a joke, this is something that's in the forefront of the news right now and for somebody to do that, it goes beyond vandalism,’ Melling said. With the number of patients suffering from the devastating illness on the rise, people in the area say Ebola is not a laughing matter. Police in Scottsdale said they have opened an investigation into the act of vandalism that has left homeowners in the gated community shaken. Lisa Gorgone pointed a finger of blame at bored teenagers who have nothing better to do than to destroy public property, but Jack Carpenter, who has lived in Rio Montana subdivision for more than 20 years, believes there's something more to it. ‘The writing was pretty clear,’ he told ABC15. ‘It suggests an activist as opposed to someone who was just doing it as a prank.’ Cover-up: The homeowners' association acted quickly to paint over the red letters . Crime and punishment: The person or people responsible for the act of vandalism will face misdemenor charges . Trying to make light of the situation, Tracy Garrity quipped that she was surprised the vandals knew how to spell the word 'quarantine' correctly. Police Officer Dave Pubins told AZCentral that the person or people responsible for the callous prank will face misdemeanor charges, if arrested. People in the US and around the world continue to be on edge about the Ebola outbreak, which so far has claimed more than 4,000 lives in western Africa, according to the latest numbers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Thomas Eric Duncan, an American citizen who returned to the US from Ebola-stricken Liberia in mid-September, succumbed to the disease last week while being treated at a hospital in Dallas, Texas. Nurse Nina Pham, 26, also contracted the virus while caring for Duncan at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, and on Wednesday, the CDC confirmed that a second health worker, 29-year-old registered nurse Amber Jay Vinson, tested positive for Ebola.
Vandals left the disturbing graffiti Monday night at the Rio Montana subdivision in Scottsdale .
The homeowners' association acted quickly to cover up the words with a coat of brown paint .
People living in a gated community in Scottsdale, Arizona, woke up Tuesday morning to discover the ominous words 'Ebola Quarantine Zone' spray-painted on one of the outside entrance walls. The barrier surrounding the Rio Montana subdivision in north Scottsdale was vandalized sometime Monday night. Those living in the neighbhrood were not amused to see the writing suggesting that their quiet community has been touched by the deadly virus, which claimed its first victim on US soil as recently as last week. Scroll down for video . Gallows humor: Residents in Scottsdale, Arizona, woke up Tuesday to find the words 'Ebola quarantine zone' spray-painted on the fence surrounding their gated community . Under the cover of darkness: The vandals behind the disturbing graffiti defaced the wall sometime Monday night . Homeowners Association President John Melling jumped into action and quickly had the upsetting graffiti covered up with a coat of brown paint, AZCentral.com reported. ‘It's not a joke, this is something that's in the forefront of the news right now and for somebody to do that, it goes beyond vandalism,’ Melling said. With the number of patients suffering from the devastating illness on the rise, people in the area say Ebola is not a laughing matter. Police in Scottsdale said they have opened an investigation into the act of vandalism that has left homeowners in the gated community shaken. Lisa Gorgone pointed a finger of blame at bored teenagers who have nothing better to do than to destroy public property, but Jack Carpenter, who has lived in Rio Montana subdivision for more than 20 years, believes there's something more to it. ‘The writing was pretty clear,’ he told ABC15. ‘It suggests an activist as opposed to someone who was just doing it as a prank.’ Cover-up: The homeowners' association acted quickly to paint over the red letters . Crime and punishment: The person or people responsible for the act of vandalism will face misdemenor charges . Trying to make light of the situation, Tracy Garrity quipped that she was surprised the vandals knew how to spell the word 'quarantine' correctly. Police Officer Dave Pubins told AZCentral that the person or people responsible for the callous prank will face misdemeanor charges, if arrested. People in the US and around the world continue to be on edge about the Ebola outbreak, which so far has claimed more than 4,000 lives in western Africa, according to the latest numbers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Thomas Eric Duncan, an American citizen who returned to the US from Ebola-stricken Liberia in mid-September, succumbed to the disease last week while being treated at a hospital in Dallas, Texas. Nurse Nina Pham, 26, also contracted the virus while caring for Duncan at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, and on Wednesday, the CDC confirmed that a second health worker, 29-year-old registered nurse Amber Jay Vinson, tested positive for Ebola.
the upsetting graffiti covered up with a coat of Cover-up: The homeowners' association acted quickly to paint over the red letters . Crime and