Bridgeport police are searching for the person responsible for vandalizing St. Andrew Academy Thursday night, spray painting messages of hate and satanic symbols on religious statues and their outdoor chapel.
The graffiti was discovered Friday morning by staff at St. Andrew. Principal Maria O’Neill scrambled to divert buses around it to try and shield the children from it.
“It’s really difficult to understand where this kind of hate comes from,” O’Neill said.
As teachers tried to answer questions from students about why it happened, the city stepped up to help clean it up.
“Now is the time that we pull together, that we work together and show that we have the faith to get us through this,” Councilwoman Michelle Lyons said.
Crews from Bridgeport were called in to remove the graffiti and most of it was gone by the time school was dismissed. However, they say the vandals used several cans of red spray paint, the hardest color to remove.
“Hate is always a concern and if hate is not taken care of immediately, it has a tendency to grow,” State Representative Charlie Stallworth said.
Bridgeport police went door to door Friday asking neighbors if they had any surveillance video that might help with the investigation. St. Andrew does not have video currently, but O’Neill says they plan on getting cameras installed as soon as possible.
“If anyone knows anything, please come forward. We would like to help whoever did this,” O’Neill said.
St. Andrew Academy is a Pre-K through 8 catholic school located in Bridgeport.