Charges Sought After Swastika Carved Into Locker
EAST LANSING (WWJ/AP) - Police say they're seeking malicious destruction of property charges against three Michigan high school students after a Jewish classmate found a swastika carved into her locker.
School administrators, the girl's family and police agreed the best way to handle the incident was for her three classmates to be charged with the misdemeanor, East Lansing Police Lt. Scott Wriggelsworth told the Lansing State Journal.
The Ingham County Prosecutor's Office is expected to make a determination about what charges might be brought.
"We'll charge what we feel is appropriate, and we are not bound by what other people think," Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III said.
Wriggelsworth said an investigation began after the swastika was reportedly carved in late April. Another student's locker at East Lansing High School also was damaged.
Superintendent Dave Chapin said "appropriate disciplinary actions" have been taken against the three students, but he didn't elaborate. He said the district considers it an isolated incident.
"In this case, the families came together," Chapin said. "And to the best of my knowledge, as I was not present, they worked through a reasonable solution and that's better left in the hands of the East Lansing Police Department."
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