Five teenagers have been arrested for vandalizing their rival high school in Arlington, Texas with offensive and racist graffiti in a senior prank.
Christian Joeckel, Ryan Westbrook, Hayden Honolka, Cameron Bodenstab, and Ethan Sigmond, are accused of the vandalism at James Martin High School.
'Whites only' was spray painted over a water fountain, and 'trans only' was painted over a men's bathroom door, prompting Arlington Police Department spokesman Chris Cook to say there were 'several disturbing racial and gender overtones'.
All five are students at Arlington High School. Joeckel, Westbrook and Honolka are 17, while Bodenstab and Sigmond are 18.
Joeckel admitted to spray panting a penis, and both the 'whites only' and 'trans only' messages,
WFAA reported.
Westbrook and Honolka wrote similar messages that included 'F*** Martin', while Bodenstab and Sigmond said their role in the prank was confined to painting the jungle gym green, which is their school's color.
The boys were trying to pull off a senior prank and may have acted in retaliation for an incident last year, when Arlington High School's parking lot was painted, one student said.
But now the boys are charged with state felonies for causing about $20,000 in damage to school property, with more serious consequences if a grand jury decides they should be indicted for a hate crime.
'They were pretty remorseful. I don’t think they gave a lot of thought to the ramifications,' Cook said.