Arlington Police Investigating Racist Text Messages Allegedly Sent by Ottoson Student: Report

By Joe Lipovich and Dan Libon

ARLINGTON, MA—The Arlington Police Department has opened an investigation into racist text messages allegedly sent by a 12-year-old student to another student.

Superintendent Kathleen Bodie said Tuesday she is aware of an allegation where a sixth grade student at Ottoson Middle School allegedly sent racially offensive text messages to one student about another student.

"We are actively working with the administrators at the middle school to discuss and determine the best course of action to take. We are also cooperating with the Arlington Police Department during its investigation into this incident. We appreciate the community’s support and patience as we take on this process," Bodie said in a release.

Arlington Police Chief Frederick Ryan told the Boston Globe that his offices were alerted to the messages earlier Monday, and that a 12-year-old Ottoson girl allegedly sent the text messages to another student.

Ryan also told the Globe that the text messages contained "multiple racial epithets." On March 17, Ottoson administrators found racist and anti-Semitic graffiti in two school bathrooms. A second such instance of graffiti was found in April within 30 days of the previous incident.

You can read more from the Boston Globe here.

Arlington Police were not immediately available for comment.