Racist Graffiti Turns Up At Pacific Palisades Charter High School

Hateful graffiti was discovered on and around Pacific Palisades Charter High School's campus over the weekend, prompting a student demonstration earlier today.

The graffiti was first reported on Sunday morning at about 6:30 a.m. by a neighbor to the school, located at 15777 Bowdoin St. in Pacific Palisades, The L.A. Times reports. A group of about 300 students and neighbors came together this Monday morning in protest of the graffiti, which included the phrase 'Ku Klux Klan,' a swastika and hateful epithets about people of color and LGBT and Jewish people.

Authorities believe the graffiti, which has since been covered up, likely occurred early Sunday morning, City News Service reports. Surveillance video shows a person painting the slurs while wearing a white mask and red beanie. The school and police are working together to investigate the vandalism.

Earlier today, several students at the school decided not to attend their first class until the school answered questions about the graffiti, according to Brad Daley, principal and executive assistant to the executive director. Officials met with the students, and Daley said the students requested an investigation and that the person or people responsible be arrested.

"We haven't had anything like this in several years. We don't know what's prompting this," Daley told the Times.

The school's Principal and Executive Director Pam Magee told CBS Los Angeles, "There have not been any threats to the school. We have extra security on hand in an abundance of caution. We don't tolerate any form of hate speech or hate-related actions. We will absolutely address this. It’s just despicable."