One week after a Pride flag was burned at an Oxford County school, a replacement flag has been stolen, Ontario Provincial Police say.
OPP officers said they were alerted to damage to a flagpole at Emily Stowe Public School in Norwich on Sunday.
The night before, around 10:30 p.m., investigators say two suspects went to school on Jerdon Street, cut down a metal flagpole and removed a Pride flag. Police said the suspects then fled toward Stover Street.
Police are looking for two male suspects who appear to be in their late teens or early 20s. One of them is described as thin and wearing a light-colored shirt, blue shorts and dark boots. The second person is described as thin and wearing a light-colored hat, black t-shirt and blue trousers.
Five days earlier, OPP were notified of mischief at the same public school.
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Investigators say around 11:30 p.m. on June 1, two suspects attended the school, removed a Pride flag and set it on fire.
OPP constant. Randi Crawford told Global News that although the suspect descriptions differ slightly, investigators think the two incidents are related.
Following the first act of vandalism, Oxford County warden Marcus Ryan said he was deeply saddened.
“While a flag can be changed, the message behind actions like this cannot be ignored,” he wrote in his message to the public. “It was an attempt to intimidate and isolate people because they were just being themselves.”
Oxford County Pride said in a statement on social media that both incidents were “direct attacks” on the community’s safety and sense of belonging.
“This was no ordinary property damage. This was a deliberate and coordinated campaign to intimidate our community and target 2SLGBTQIA+ youth,” the organization said on social media on Sunday. “They can destroy the flagpole, but they cannot violate our commitment to protect and support each other.”
Anyone with information or surveillance footage of any of the incidents is asked to contact police.
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