Cops investigate ‘offensive’ graffiti painted at school

FAIRFIELD — Police are investigating multiple instances of graffiti referencing China, socialism and President-elect Joe Biden at McKinley Elementary School and T.J. Maxx.

In a news release, police said a Board of Education employee reported a sidewalk on the school property “had been vandalized with spray paint” around 1:28 p.m. Wednesday.

Police said the grafitti read “United States of China,” and was also found spray painted on a snow mound at the back of the school’s parking lot.

“Prior to the police response, Security and Facilities workers of the Fairfield Public Schools had already removed additional words spray painted on the sidewalk that read ‘Biden for socialism,’” police said.

The other “offensive message” has since been removed, school officials said Thursday.

School officials told police they were concerned about the messages because McKinley is “the most diverse school in Fairfield,” as well as the upcoming Inauguration Day, the police report said.

The district security director told police he would review surveillance footage to see if it captured the perpetrator, according to the report.

Later that evening police found similar messages on the T.J. Maxx building nearby on Tunxis Hill Cutoff.

Police said the graffiti there was of similar content.

“The Fairfield Police Department understands that this incident has caused a great deal of alarm and varying levels of concern for many living within our community,” the release said, “and with that in mind police have been working diligently to identify the responsible individual(s).”

The department also condemned the actions.

“Along with our community, we too are disturbed by these actions,” the release said. “There is no tolerance for acts of hate in our community.”

The Fairfield Board of Education and district officials also issued a joint statement on Thursday calling the graffiti “disturbing” and thanking the police for keeping McKinley a safe space for all students.

“As we process the events unfolding across our country, we know that many in our community are dealing with feelings of anger, hurt, and fear,” the statement read. “However, there is no place for divisiveness or disruptive language in the Fairfield Public Schools. We condemn in the strongest terms the actions of anyone who vandalizes property or uses hate speech. We will continue to work together with the community to ensure that all our students feel safe, supported and valued.”

In a statement on Wednesday, state Sen. Tony Hwang, who lives in Fairfield, said he was “emotionally upset” by the grafitti.

“These cowardly racist and political themed messages were written on the sidewalk and snowbank of a school intended for parents and students to see was abhorrent,” he said. “And to place it onto the property of a nationally recognized school known for its diversity of race, religion and ethnicity adds to the potency of the intended hate message.”

Anyone with information about these incidents is encouraged to call the Fairfield Police Detective Bureau at (203)254-4840, or Text-A-Tip to CRIMES (274637).