By Richard McDonough
Hometown Weekly Correspondent
Last month, Westwood High School was struck by an act of vandalism. A swastika was recently spray-painted on school property, and the response has been as expected. The symbol has become so associated with inhumanity that the very sight of it conjures up thoughts of disgust, contempt and, for many, pain. While the Westwood Police Department cannot confirm any perpetrators at this point, there has been outreach from the school to make the best out of a bad situation by educating the student body.
As many members of the community have voiced their understandable outrage, Westwood High School has taken a proactive approach, using the incident as an opportunity to teach a valuable lesson. Only by informing and openly discussing this with their students can the school hope to prevent any future incidents from occurring. By addressing the issue head-on, the school hopes to achieve closure on an unfortunate offense.
When asked to comment on the incident, Lieutenant Christopher Sheehy of Westwood PD could only disclose limited information. While he could confirm the act occurred, he could not give further details on a perpetrator for multiple reasons. Most notably, their investigation is currently ongoing; no statements are made regarding investigations that could result in an individual being charged with a criminal offense. Additionally, if the person who committed the offense was a student at Westwood High School, the police would be subject to restrictions barring them from disclosing anything about a suspect under the age of 18.
Lt. Sheehy could confirm that the Police Department is taking this seriously, and that Westwood High School is taking its own measures to investigate the graffiti. While they cannot give any clearer picture of the perpetrator at this point, the Westwood Police Department assures everyone that they are doing everything in their power to uncover the truth.
The main message the Lieutenant Sheehy wanted to relay was that, as always, the Westwood Police Department holds the interests of the community as its number one priority. In matters of public safety and criminal proceeding, the Department is quick to respond and adhere to procedure when addressing a situation.
The people of Westwood can trust that their police force is as dedicated to making sure the town remains safe and civil as ever.
