‘No more masks’ spray-painted outside elementary school in South Carolina, cops say
The message “no more masks” was found scrawled outside a South Carolina elementary school, officials said.
A parent checking out a decorative rock at the school entrance first discovered words written there in spray paint, according to the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office.
Over the weekend, deputies said someone left the message “no masks” on the rock at Sullivan’s Island Elementary School, near the coast and the tourist hotspot of Charleston. By the time students returned to classes on Jan. 31, someone had covered the words.
But when the sheriff’s office went to the school the next day, it reported finding another message: “no more masks.”
Now, deputies say a 46-year-old Isle of Palms man is facing a charge in the reported vandalism. The sheriff’s office said it found surveillance video appearing to show him shake an object before he bent over a rock and wrote something.
The man reportedly was seen doing similar actions on another occasion. The suspect, who is charged with malicious injury to personal property, told officials he thought anyone could decorate the rock, according to an incident report.
Though the sheriff’s office didn’t say why the man left the message, school board meetings across the country have been sites of heated remarks and protests over face mask mandates.
During the coronavirus pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends children ages 2 and older wear face coverings in schools. Some families have said mask wearing should be optional, McClatchy News reported.
Sullivan’s Island Elementary School is in the Charleston County School District, which is requiring masks for students, workers and visitors through at least March 14, according to its website.
This story was originally published February 3, 2022 at 12:12 PM.
