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Last updated on Sunday, April 8, 2012
(BLOOMINGTON) - Two local high school students, a male and female not affiliated IU, were identified as the culprits in the recent vandalism at Goodbody Hall that involved a swastika and the word “Hitler.”
IU police interviewed the two with their parents Thursday. IU Police Chief Keith Cash said both sets of parents seemed genuinely concerned about their children's actions.
"The parents of both the male and female juvenile, after learning of their teenagers' involvement, took the opportunity to educate them on how their actions impact others and why it was considered hateful," Cash said.
Cash said both students told the same story. They were walking around campus, bored, and had been writing on the walls of other buildings with a magic marker.
"We were aware of other vandalism with the marker, which was what I would describe as juvenile type vandalism referring to the female anatomy and nothing anti-Semitic," Cash said.
When the two reached Goodbody Hall, Cash said the teenagers told police they saw a poster and decided to write anti-Semitic speech on it.
Cash said police shared the details of the case with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as the Department of Justice logs crimes involving possible hate speech.
Cash said the case will be referred to the prosecutor's office for charges or referral to juvenile probation.
Previous Update
IU police were called Monday in response to vandalism of a Jewish Studies poster in Goodbody Hall.
The word "Hitler" and a swastika were written on the poster in black magic marker. IU Police Department Chief Keith Cash said police believe this occurred sometime on Saturday.
Around 5:40 p.m., Cash released an official update on the case announcing he is confident the persons of interest in the case have been properly identified.
"We believe they are juveniles and not IU students. This remains under investigation and we will know more after completing interviews with the suspects," Cash said in the email.
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