Two teenage boys are facing mischief charges after a racial slur was spray-painted on a pathway near a Mississauga high school last month.
According to Peel Regional Police, “derogatory and offensive phrases” were painted on a sidewalk that leads to Iona Catholic Secondary School in the early morning hours of February 24.
Students headed to school the following Monday morning discovered the graffiti – which in part read “Welcome To N-----ville” – and informed school officials.
While the graffiti was technically spray painted off of school property, students told CTV News Toronto that the pathway is a popular route for those who walk to and from school every day.
At the time, students at the school said they believed the act was “hate-based.”
The words were painted over shortly after the school’s resource officers became aware of it.
The suspects, both 17 years old, were charged Friday with mischief under $5,000.
It’s not known whether the suspects were students at the school.
They cannot be identified due to the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
Anyone with information related to the incident is being asked to call police.
