Marblehead police investigate anti-Semitic message at high school
Marblehead High School will now partner with the Anti-Defamation League for anti-bias training.
It’s been one week since police discovered a shattered window at Marblehead High School and an anti-Semitic message scratched into the baseball field behind the school, and a suspect for either offense is still at large.
The anti-Semitic message — “Jews did 9/11” — prompted a strong response from the town’s police department and the Anti-Defamation League.
“This shameful act of hate goes beyond simply being offensive,” ADL New England Regional Director Robert Trestan wrote in a statement Wednesday. “The perpetrators were promoting the pernicious conspiracy theory claiming that Jews were responsible for 9/11. This type of attack warrants condemnation by the entire community.”
“This shameful act of hate goes beyond simply being offensive.”
Marblehead Police Chief Robert Picariello said the act “doesn’t reflect at all the community’s feelings.”
“It’s horrible,” he added. “Quite frankly, it’s all disgusting … I don’t even get this.”
Police are not sure if the broken window at the school’s main office is connected to the anti-Semitic message on the baseball field.
Police were first alerted to the shattered window in the main office of the school at 6:40 a.m. last Thursday, August 18, Picariello said. As officers were investigating that, a custodian alerted police to the anti-Semitic message, scrawled into the infield of the baseball diamond with a rake.
Picariello said he is not sure if the incidents are connected.
“I don’t know [if] one person did both or if it was two separate incidents,” he said. “There’s not enough information to make those decisions.”
What police do know, however, is that the broken window and message in the dirt follow a similar timeline. The office window was smashed between 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, August 17 (when the last person left the school) and Thursday morning when police responded.
Marblehead got a lot of rain midday on the 16th, so investigators know the offensive message was written after that.
Police posted about the broken window on social media last Thursday, asking for the public’s help. They included surveillance camera photos of a car that was outside the school Wednesday night.
“It is unclear if the occupants of the vehicle in these photos are suspects, potential witnesses or just out for a joy ride? Regardless, Marblehead Police would like to speak with them,” police wrote.
They also posted a photo of the broken window.
“Principal [Daniel Bauer] received an unwelcome surprise in his office this morning. This is a double pane window and took some effort to break,” they wrote.
https://www.facebook.com/MHeadPolice/posts/1078882925530930
This is not the first incidence of anti-Semitism in the North Shore town. Last year, students at Marblehead High School found pennies in the shape of a swastika posted on Snapchat. This April, someone drew a swastika on a Marblehead basketball court.
“In an effort to address these hate incidents and prevent future ones, the school has partnered with ADL,” Trestan said, “and will be implementing ADL’s anti-bias training program beginning next month.”
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