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Racist Graffiti Triggers Outrage In Upscale Community

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) —  Residents of an upscale neighborhood woke Sunday to racist graffiti on the sidewalk.

CBS2's Erica Nochlin spoke to stunned residents.

"These were the three letters," said Rod Aragon. He saw the letters KKK in front of Palisades Charter High School in Pacific Palisades.

Aragon told Nochlin he is glad the offensive letters were later covered up.

He had already crossed them out with spray paint and others helped out by adding the word "Love."

"I thought that was really nice (that someone added love)," he said.

There were at least three instances of other racist comments on the block.

"My first thought," Aragon said, "was this needs to be covered up."

He ran to the nearest hardware store for concrete-match paint.

Love will conquer hate
(credit: Erica Nochlin/CBS2)

School administrators had already covered some of the other graffiti with green paint.

"It's just not acceptable," Aragon said. "We live in a beautiful community. I think right now we're at a point where we have to take action on the obvious; it's very important, and we all owe it to each other,"

Many in the community joined in condemning the hate speech.

"It's horrible," said Anne Kupfer.

Many commented on Facebook and praised Aragon.

Some even turned the incident political. Wrote one, "Must be Trump supporters."

Police told Nochlin they have no reason to believe that.

The principal. meanwhile, says security cameras caught at least one person wearing a face mask.

The principal told Nochlin, "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."

The school sent out a statement regarding the incident to parents and students on Sunday.

In the statement, the school said, "PCHS does not tolerate hate speech or related actions and is working closely with law enforcement to identify and apprehend those responsible. Surveillance cameras captured several images that will be helpful in identifying the perpetrator (who was wearing a red hoodie and a white face mask). Please listen for any information related to this incident being shared among students and report it to school administration immediately by calling our Tipline at 424.653.4083, or by visiting the MySafeSchool website and following the simple instructions to post your tip there. Both of these reporting methods are completely anonymous."

The statement also said that instructions will be provided Monday to students on how to make an anonymous report through the Tipline or MySafeSchool in the event that they are uncomfortable going to an adult on campus.

Students and parents should be assured that their identities will be kept confidential, even if they decide to report information directly to teachers, deans or administrators.

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