'Disturbing' Graffiti Found At Fairfield School, Store: Police

FAIRFIELD, CT — Police are investigating after graffiti that officials characterized as disturbing, political and racist was reported at a Fairfield elementary school and a nearby store.

A McKinley Elementary School employee notified law enforcement 1:30 p.m. Wednesday about vandalism on a sidewalk outside the school at 60 Thompson St., according to police.

Officers found the words “United States of China” spray-painted on the sidewalk and on a snow mound in the back of the school parking lot, police said. The phrase “Biden For Socialism” had also been painted on a sidewalk near the school but was removed by school district employees before officers arrived, according to police.

“Today, we learned of disturbing graffiti defacing the sidewalk outside of McKinley Elementary School,” McKinley Principal Teresa Gingrave said Wednesday in a message to parents. “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. However, our children are watching and our school must continue to be a safe space for all our students.”

The school employee who reported the vandalism expressed to police concern about the graffiti in relation to McKinley’s status as the most diverse school in Fairfield and President-Elect Joe Biden’s upcoming inauguration. Law enforcement assured the employee McKinley was already scheduled to have an officer on site during the coming week.

“In our school there is no place for divisiveness or political rhetoric,” Gingrave said. “We strongly condemn the actions of anyone who would vandalize school property and send such a hateful and malicious message.”

District officials believe the graffiti occurred overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, according to Director of Communications Andrea Clark.

“We have no idea what the intent of the message is,” Clark said in an email.

Law enforcement had not identified any obvious suspects Wednesday, but school district officials planned to check McKinley's security footage for any visible offenders, police said.

The Fairfield Board of Education and Superintendent Mike Cummings issued a joint statement Thursday morning on the vandalism.

"We condemn in the strongest terms the actions of anyone who vandalizes property or uses hate speech," they said. "We will continue to work together with the community to ensure that all our students feel safe, supported and valued."

State Sen. Tony Hwang, R-28th District, issued a statement Wednesday in response to the graffiti.

“I am emotionally upset and strongly reacting to the vandalism and hate graffiti statement on politics and the insinuation of racial bias against Chinese Americans that appeared today at an elementary school in Fairfield,” Hwang said. “(That) 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.”

Fairfield state Reps. Jennifer Leeper, D-132nd District; Cristin McCarthy Vahey, D-133rd District; and Laura Devlin, R-134th District, issued a joint statement after the incident.

“As your State Representatives, we denounce hate in any and all forms,” they said. “Together, we must not only hold one other accountable but actively support building a community that is safe for all of its members. Racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, or any form of hate have no place here in Fairfield or our State — nor does intentionally divisive political rhetoric.”

On Wednesday evening, police were notified about additional graffiti on the T.J. Maxx building at 425 Tunxis Hill Cutoff, which is near McKinley. The vandalism included the phrases “Beijing Biden” and “Commie Kamala” and the word “communism,” all of which were crossed out, according to images provided by police.

“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 and with that in mind police have been working diligently to identify the responsible individual(s),” police said in a news release.

Wednesday’s graffiti followed an incident in November, when a Republican Board of Finance member’s property was vandalized, and another in July, when messages were spray-painted in Tunxis Hill Park. In both of those cases, the graffiti expressed support for the Black Lives Matter movement and opposed President Donald Trump and the police.

“We’ve seen this in town over the last year on many different issues — whether anti-police or in response to the presidential elections,” First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick said in a prepared statement. “When I heard about the graffiti this morning, I immediately asked our DPW to go remove it as I have in the past. Defacing public property is always unacceptable and illegal.”

Anyone with information about the graffiti discovered Wednesday is asked to call the police department's detective bureau at 203-254-4840 or text a tip to 274637.