2 students responsible for racist graffiti at Sacramento-area elementary school, district says
Two high school students are believed to be responsible for painting racist graffiti on a Rancho Cordova elementary school last month, according to the Sacramento City Unified School District.
Racial expletives, a swastika, and other hate-filled messages were found plastered on the walls of Abraham Lincoln Elementary School near the observation of the Civil War president’s birthday.
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department said Monday officers issued felony vandalism citations to the 14-year-old suspects, both of whom attend George Washington Carver School of Arts and Science.
The sheriff’s department said the damages were worth more than $400, which is the threshold for felony vandalism. Sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Rod Grassman said their court dates are “currently pending”.
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department told the school district last that it identified two students from a nearby high school as the alleged vandals, school district community liaison Mark Harris said.
Harris said that the district and law enforcement are discussing what next course of action will take place.
“If those students need to be removed from the school site, I’m sure they’ll be removed today or tomorrow,” said Harris. “And then the question will be what the next steps are relative to suspension, expulsion, potential juvenile prosecution, or whatever the appropriate next steps will be.”
School staff painted over the graffiti as soon as it was discovered, according to district officials.
Support services have been offered to students and staff “traumatized by this racist incident.”
“It is appalling that anyone would target a school with racist graffiti and subject students, staff and families to messages of hate,” Superintendent Jorge A. Aguilar said in a news release last month.
The vandalism at Abraham Lincoln closely followed an incident at C.K. McClatchy High School in which a student scrawled the words “colored” and “white” over a water fountain, referencing racist polices from the segregation-era.
The district also is investigating a November incident in which someone vandalized West Campus High School with racist graffiti. The status of that investigation is unclear.
A spokesperson from the Sacramento Police Department said the case is “active”.
The Sacramento Police Department is urging community members with any information about the West Campus incident to reach out.
This story was originally published March 7, 2022 at 11:43 AM.
