Student admitted to producing the racial graffiti that students protested about on Tuesday at Our Lady of Mercy School for Young Women

Rochester, New York – As we already reported earlier this week, dozens of students protested on Tuesday outside Our Lady of Mercy School for Young Women after a racial graffiti was found in one of the school bathrooms on Monday, initially believed to have been produced during the weekend when the school is open for off-school activities.

According to the report, the racial graffiti included the N-word and a message that read, “Get our or else.”

Since then, the local authorities were investigating the case and they finally updated the public on Thursday announcing that one student admitted to have produced the racial graffiti.

Mercy’s employees helped the Brighton Police Department conducting the investigation during these few days and they initially found one suspect, a student, who later confessed to producing the racial graffiti.

Due to his age and other legal reasons, the school and the authorities didn’t release the identity of the student for the public. However, the school informed the public about the results of the investigation:

A statement from school leaders said:

“Our Lady of Mercy School for Young Women has concluded our thorough investigation into the racist graffiti incident that was brought to our attention early Monday morning. The investigation was led by the Brighton Police Department with full cooperation of Mercy administration and faculty. During the investigative process, one of our students confessed to writing the graffiti in the girls bathroom. For legal reasons, and in accordance with Mercy’s confidentiality practices, the student will not be identified. Mercy has zero tolerance for this kind of behavior; appropriate and maximum disciplinary action has been taken.

Even though closure has come to this single incident, there is so much more work to do to understand what people are feeling and fearing. Our students and our community are distressed and hurt; Mercy will work to help heal the wounds caused by this incident, as well as help heal deep-rooted, related feelings this incident has brought to the surface. Consistent with the Critical Concerns of the Sisters of Mercy, we are planning events and initiatives in the coming weeks to recognize and acknowledge the powerful emotions that are present within our community. We are a compassionate institution, built on a foundation of faith, hope, and love and made strong by the resilience of our students, families, faculty, staff, and everyone within the Circle of Mercy. The road ahead will not be easy, but our love for each other and our school will light the way.“