STAMFORD, CT — Swastikas were found painted on the campus of the Academy of Information, Technology and Engineering (AITE) in Stamford early Friday morning, according to the city. In an update early Friday evening, officials said investigators also found a racial slur spray painted in another area of the campus.
The incident was reported to the Stamford Police Department.
Investigators were reviewing security video Friday, which appeared to show two young people on school property around 1:30 a.m., Lt. Jerry Junes told Patch.
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Junes called the graffiti “hateful and hurtful.”
“It doesn’t appear as if any particular person is sending a direct message. If we find whoever is responsible for it, you’re going to be arrested,” Junes added.
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The antisemitic and racist graffiti was discovered just before 7 a.m. Friday when staff reported to work, a joint statement from Mayor Caroline Simmons, Stamford School Superintendent Dr. Tamu Lucero, and Board of Education Chair Jackie Heftman said.
The officials said they had no indication the vandalism was caused by a member of the school community.
“Everyone in our community deserves to be treated with dignity, respect, and acceptance. If you have any information about this incident that would help in the investigation, please contact the Stamford Police Department,” the officials said.
In their updated statement Friday evening, Simmons, Lucero and Heftman went on to say they remain “deeply disappointed” that anyone would deface a school building with hateful words and symbols.
“Stamford is a vibrant, growing community that is made stronger by its diversity. We want to reiterate that hate speech, bullying, or the dissemination of any words or symbols associated with hate is unacceptable and will not be tolerated in our community,” the officials said.
“We would like to thank Chief Shaw and the entire Stamford Police Department for their response to this hate crime. We also want to thank the AITE custodial staff who reported this incident promptly and who worked hard to remove these hateful words and symbols from school property.”
Anyone with information about the incident should contact police.
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This is the third such incident at AITE within the past year. Swastikas were found on a curbside at the campus and on the school’s tennis courts last October.
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