Police probe swastikas scrawled on Long Island school
NEW YORK (FOX 5 NEWS) - Monday marked orientation day for incoming freshman and the annual picnic for seniors at Syosset High School. But parents are still talking about what happened over the weekend. Messages of hate were discovered on the walls and doors. The graffiti included swastikas, anti-Semitic, and gang-related messages.
"In such a safe enclave as we think Syosset, New York, is, it is so disturbing that there's such hate," said Joy Weisberger, a parent of a student.
Police said a security guard found swastikas, profanities, and MS-13 tags spray-painted on the doors, walls, and windows of both the middle and high schools early Sunday morning.
"The Town of Oyster Bay has zero tolerance for hate," Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino said. "It is imperative that we speak out against hate in our communities as crimes like these have hit too close to home in recent months."
Photos from Sunday night show hundreds at a community rally. Among them was Rabbi Jay Weinstein who said he and others on the clergy council have an emergency meeting with the superintendent on Tuesday.
"Is this just a kid who thinks it's a joke? Or is it someone from a gang?" Weinstein said. "Or is it a copycat? Or is it truly a hate crime? And it's frightening."
Nassau County Police will be intensifying patrols around schools and religious institutions. Police are also offering a reward up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrests of the individual of individuals.
The district superintendent said he is reviewing internal operations to prevent something like this from happening again.