West LA

Parents, neighbors outraged after racist graffiti was sprayed on West LA elementary school marquee

The Los Angeles School Police Department was investigating the case as a hate crime.

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Parents at an elementary school in West Los Angeles Monday called for cameras to be installed after someone sprayed racist graffiti on the school marquee. 

The graffiti, which may have been tagged over Veterans Day weekend at Richland Avenue Elementary School, contained racist language at the school whose principal is a Black woman.

Police went door to door, looking for witnesses and video evidence, according to neighbors, but it’s not clear if any was found. 

The graffiti was erased by Monday, but many people in the school community as well as the neighborhood said they were shaken.

“I was deeply disappointed and scared to think that hate is growing to a level where it’s literally in my backyard brings me into a state of panic,” said Cat Miller, a parent to a student attending the school.

Some parents have created an online petition calling for cameras to be installed at the school.

“It’s disgusting. There’s no place for that type of racist garbage in our society. I was disgusted,” Dan Lochhead, a neighbor, said. 

The Los Angeles School Police Department was investigating the case as a hate crime. 

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