CORRECTION (April 16, 2018): The three juveniles and two adults involved in the incident were charged and released on a copy of charges. A previous version of this story said they were arrested.
Milton police identified five high school students Friday who allegedly vandalized a north Fulton County woman’s driveway with anti-Semitic drawings.
The students toilet-papered trees at the Waterside Drive home of the woman and wrote anti-Semitic language on her driveway with shaving cream, police said. Police added that the vandalism appeared to be related to an off-campus event, the “junior-senior wars.” The woman’s son is a Milton High School student.
The victim shared those photos of the shaving cream drawings on her Facebook page, one of which read “(expletive) you.” Another portrayed the Star of David with the word “Jew” written inside of it.
Three minors were processed through the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice and charged with the delinquent act of criminal trespass.
McKenna Blaine and Katherine Stein, both 17, were charged as adults for violating the Milton City Ordinance of Vandalism. They were issued citations, released on a copy of charges and have court dates pending, police said.
None of the five students were arrested.
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"We're pleased that our detectives were able to conclude this investigation so quickly to allow some closure for the (victim’s) family," Milton police chief Rich Austin said in a statement. "Milton is a tight-knit community and this type of behavior simply cannot be tolerated. Hopefully this will be a learning experience for the students involved."
According to a police report, officers were called to the woman’s home at 6:49 a.m. Monday. Police observed that her front yard had been covered in toilet paper, and that there were inappropriate pictures and words drawn on the driveway with shaving cream.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reached out to the victim, but she did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Police said they explored all local, state and federal laws that may apply to this incident, and even contacted the FBI about the possibility of this being a hate crime.
Charles Barstow, the captain of the Milton police department, said he hasn’t seem any similar crimes like this one in the city.
"We worked to make sure that these students fully understand the severity of their actions,” Barstow said in a statement. “All expressed remorse for their behavior to our detectives, and it's also my understanding that some have even communicated directly with the (victim’s) family."
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