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Winnipeg’s Kelvin High School is the latest location in the city to be targeted by hateful graffiti, the superintendent of the Winnipeg School Division says.
Graffiti showing swastikas were found on the school building, located at the intersection of Academy Road and Stafford Street, superintendent Matt Henderson said in a letter sent to families of students.
“This hate crime is not acceptable or tolerated on Winnipeg School Division property, or anywhere in our school community,” Henderson said in the letter, calling the graffiti a “cowardly act.”
The graffiti was first noticed on the building Monday night, he said in an interview with CBC Radio’s Up To Speed on Tuesday afternoon. The spray-painted graffiti has since been removed.
Winnipeg police have been notified, his letter said, and “will conduct their investigation to find the individuals responsible for this horrendous act of ignorance.”
Winnipeg police confirmed in an email to CBC that they are investigating.
The division has also contacted the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, as well as the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg, to let them know about the incident, which he described as “sickening behaviour.”
‘Sad and disappointed’
Henderson says he’s received responses from the Jewish community, and other Winnipeggers.
“The community of Winnipeg just is really sad and disappointed about this type of vandalism and this type of hate,” he said.
Henderson said the division’s focus is to emphasize the importance of education in the wake of what he called a “one-off” event.
“Part of the power of public education is that we have the opportunity to really be able to teach people how to live with each other, how to work with each other, how to learn with each other.”
Tracy Schmidt, Manitoba’s education minister, says she was shocked and saddened by the spray-painted symbols.
Schmidt told CBC she’s been in touch with Kelvin high school’s principal and the leadership team at the school division.
“We know that the principal and the school community are doing everything that they can to support all the students in that school and that school community. We know that every single student deserves to feel safe and included,” she said.
The incident at Kelvin is not the first involving antisemitic symbols in the city since the start of the new year.
Nearby Shaarey Zedek synagogue on Wellington Crescent was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti, including several swastikas, on Friday.
These incidents come around one year after several swastikas were found painted on the exterior of the Westdale Community Centre building.