BOSTON (WHDH) - A South Boston elementary school custodian who found racist messages spray-painted outside of the school says he believes the hateful graffiti targeted him.
Logan Thompson says he found the messages when he showed up for work at Tynan Elementary School Wednesday.
“It was on every door, ‘we’re gonna get you,’ ‘we’re gonna kill you’ and loading dock had ‘whitey forever,’ ‘winter hill gang,’ ‘south gangs,’ ‘keep south white,’” he recalled.
Thompson added that he feels the racist graffiti was directed towards him.
“As I kept walking the building, I saw the year, make and model of my car was posted on the wall and it said ‘we were gonna get you,'” he said.
Thompson, who recently took over the maintenance job, said he’s not going to be run out of town.
“They don’t know me yet so I guess they could be trying to scare me away but I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “This is my job, I love it here and we’re just gonna get through it.”
Boston Public Schools brought in behavioral health staff and school psychologists for students and staff who needed support following the incident. They also notified parents.
“BPS treasures the cultural diversity of our community, which includes young people and adults of an extraordinary array of racial, ethnic, religious and other identities,” BPS said in a statement. “Incidents like this are in no way reflective of the safe, secure, and supportive environment that the Boston Public Schools are committed to fostering, nor the values embodied by our students, staff, and families, each of whom are valued members of our community.”
Mayor Martin J. Walsh added that the “horrifying and heinous” messages are “a complete misrepresentation of who we are as a city.”
“Racism and threats of this nature will not be tolerated in our schools or in the City of Boston,” he added. “To whoever wrote this message, you should be ashamed for spreading this message of hate where our young people go to learn. Boston is a place that is welcoming and inclusive of all. The Boston police are conducting an investigation and any individuals involved will be held accountable for their actions.”
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