A bright mural will soon cover a wall at Meridian High School where two alleged vandals left racist graffiti Friday night.

The suspects in the vandalism, Jordan M. Wolfe, 19, and a juvenile were arrested by the Meridian Police Department over the weekend, Meridian Mayor Percy Bland announced during a press conference at city hall Monday.

Wolfe was charged with burglary of a commercial building, a felony; contributing to the delinquency of a minor and carrying a concealed weapon. The other suspect, who was not identified because he is a minor, was also charged with burglary of a commercial building.

The arrests came after authorities responded to fire alarms at the school Friday evening, finding vandalism and racist messages sprayed on a wall.

Saturday night, a Community Development Partnership worker spotted a man fitting Wolfe’s description spraying graffiti in the 26th Avenue underpass, according to Meridian Police Chief Benny Dubose.

Wolfe was arrested and admitted to the vandalism and burglary and also named his 16-year-old accomplice. More charges may follow, Dubose said.

Bland said state and federal authorities were contacted to help in the investigation because the incident may be a hate crime.

“Everyone in this community condemns these cowardly acts, and they do not reflect who we are as a community or as a city,” Bland said. “Thankfully, the attitudes reflected by these incidents are no longer acceptable and will not be tolerated by this administration or this city.”

The juvenile is a student at the school. Dubose did not know if Wolfe was a former student or not.

“I don’t think this reflects on the city of Meridian as a whole,” Dubose said. “I think this is an isolated, unfortunate incident that occurred. It won’t be tolerated – I think the community has spoken and said ‘not here’.”

The suspects may be responsible for other graffiti seen around the city, Dubose said.

Meridian Public School Superintendent Dr. Amy Carter said Saturday the graffiti had been removed.

“The district is getting everything cleaned and removed so this doesn’t become a distraction to our students and teachers,” Carter said in a statement.

Carter said Monday the school will follow the district’s code of conduct to deal with the student’s actions, and thanked the community for its response to the vandalism.

“The act of vandalism that was meant to dampen the spirit of our school and community has actually proven how the community truly supports and rallies around the children of Meridian,” Carter said in a statement. “We truly appreciate the efforts of all involved to resolve this situation as quickly as possible.”

MURAL PLANNED

The vandalism didn’t sit well with some of the school’s alumni, who plan to have a mural painted on the wall where the graffiti was found.

2016 valedictorian Renuka Srivastava started a gofundme page to pay for the mural.

Srivastava just wrapped up her freshman year at the University of Alabama – Birmingham.  She learned of the vandalism via social media Saturday morning.

“I was infuriated,” she said during a phone call Monday afternoon.

Srivastava took her anger and went to work, contacting MHS Principal Victor Hubbard and veteran arts teacher Marsha Iverson, telling them she wanted to raise money for the mural to cover the graffiti. Nineteen hours after the gofundme page went live, the drive, hosted by the MHS classes of 2008, 2011 and 2016, had reached its $1500 goal. By Monday afternoon, $2,217 had been raised for the painting. 

Srivastava said the mural, which will be coordinated through the school’s Visual and Performing Arts Department and National Art Honor Society, will “stand for unity.”  

She said she wasn’t surprised at the outpouring of support for the mural. 

“The Wildcat Community – we’ve always stood behind Meridian High School,”  she said. 

Carter said she is fully behind the effort to get the mural painted. 

“We are so thankful to the MHS alumni who took the initiative to coordinate this project and for members of the community who have supported the effort,” Carter said. “A beautiful mural displaying the talent of our students will be the result of what was intended for harm.”