5 incidents of offensive graffiti in 3 weeks at Reading high school, officials say

Five incidents of graffiti found at Reading Memorial High School within the last three weeks have prompted a candlelight vigil on Saturday plus a police investigation.The graffiti included swastikas and offensive phrases against people of color and the LGBTQ community. Officials don’t know who’s responsible.“In my 31 years as an educator in the Reading Public Schools, I have never been more upset, angry and distraught as I am right now,” School Superintendent John Doherty wrote in a letter to the community on Thursday.While town and school officials, plus the police, are trying to figure out who is responsible, Doherty said he’s “frustrated” by a lack of progress in finding out who did it and why they did it.The first incident occurred on Oct. 12 when a student found two swastikas drawn on a bench in pencil, according to a letter from school Principal Kathleen Boynton. On Oct. 26, another swastika was found etched into a classroom desk, officials said. The third incident was found Monday morning in a bathroom; it said “kill the [expletive],” according to another letter from the superintendent. “We are in a time of great unrest in our country where different groups are being targeted,” Doherty wrote. “The tragedy at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburg [sic] this weekend where 11 members of the Jewish Community were killed is only the latest example of these targeted acts.  Unfortunately, our schools and community have also been impacted with recurring hate speech and swastikas.”Two more incidents — on a bathroom wall and on a stairwell — were found and announced to the school community Thursday. Each had a phrase targeting people of color, Boynton wrote. Officials believe these incidents occurred around the same time and that they occurred between Monday night and Tuesday night, Boynton added, since school officials and police walked through the school Monday after the anti-LGBTQ phrase was written.“These acts are not who we are or what we stand for as a school and they are not who we are as the greater Reading community,” Boynton said. “And yet, they continue to occur with alarming frequency and with this new incident, broadening scope and increasing threats of violence.”Saturday’s vigil will be “in celebration of diversity and in opposition to hate, racism and bigotry,” according to another community letter on Thursday from Jason Cross, who runs the district’s METCO program.There will also be a “town-meeting”-type event on Wednesday for students and staff, with a goal of “sharing stories, breaking down barriers and creating a stronger school community based on mutual respect,” according to a letter.The police department is continuing to investigate, Deputy Chief David Clark said, noting that the department takes the incidents “extremely seriously.”“Our officers are actively investigating these crimes, and we intend to hold the perpetrators accountable for their actions,” he said. “The whole department is committed to this investigation.”