SHAMEFUL

Hate Crime Probe Launched After LGBTQ+ Flag Torched at Elementary School

Some parents have protested against an upcoming Pride Day assembly.

The LAPD has opened an investigation into a possible hate crime after an LGBTQ+ flag was set on fire and destroyed at a school in North Hollywood, according to a report. A teacher at Saticoy Elementary School had placed the flag in a plant pot outside a classroom before it was found destroyed by school workers on May 22, LAPD Valley Bureau Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton told The Orange County Register. “The investigation is ongoing,” he said over the weekend. “It is a vandalism hate crime. The hate crime is still significant but it is a misdemeanor.” The alleged attack comes amid some parents’ opposition to a Pride Day assembly scheduled to take place at the school on June 2, where children will learn about LGBTQ+ identities. A member of Saticoy Elementary Parents, a group which has encouraged parents to “keep their children home and innocent” during the Pride Day event, said they didn’t think anyone in their group would have torched the flag. “None of us parents are aware of who the person might have been who set the flag on fire,” the member, known only as Ana, told the Register. “None of us would jump the fence or set the flag on fire because we don’t want to bring that negativity to the school where our children are.”