A Bethesda, Maryland, elementary school is stepping up security around campus after officials discovered graffiti referencing a school shooter.
On Saturday, the name of the individual responsible for the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, was found spray-painted on a campus fence.
The Sandy Hook shooting claimed the lives of 20 children and six adults.
Crews removed the graffiti over the weekend, and officials turned over surveillance video to police, who are investigating.
In a letter to Bradley Hills Elementary parents, Montgomery County Public Schools Chief of Schools Peter Moran said the graffiti “can only be interpreted as an act intended to intimidate and cause fear within the Bradley Hills School community, and the broader neighborhood and community, too.”
Calling it a “despicable act,” Moran added that it “will be met with a substantial and uniform response from multiple divisions of MCPS and the Montgomery County Police Department.”
The graffiti incident follows a separate case of vandalism last week, when an outdoor storage shed on school grounds was intentionally set on fire. Officials said it is not yet clear whether the two incidents are connected.
Police cruisers were seen circling Bradley Hills Elementary School as parents and school buses dropped off students Monday morning, and Montgomery County Public Schools said additional security measures are in place as students return.
Anyone with information related to the vandalism is asked to contact the Montgomery County police non-emergency line at 301-279-8000. Tips also can be submitted anonymously through the Maryland Safe Schools Tip Line at 1-833-632-7233 or online.
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