ST. CHARLES, Mo. – A school district is addressing a disturbing incident after graffiti containing racial slurs and references to sexual violence was discovered in a restroom.

The graffiti, which was scrawled with a dry erase marker, was reported by a student and quickly removed by school administrators.

Administrators expressed their apologies to anyone who had to see the offensive messages and commended those who reported the graffiti.

“The Francis Howell School District and Francis Howell High School will not tolerate racism, hate speech, or acts of violence. This behavior is deplorable and does not reflect our Viking values,” the district wrote to FOX 2.

A parent posted photos of the graffiti online, sparking concern and discussion within the community.

The district has stated that those responsible could face both school discipline and potential legal charges.

Health experts emphasize that when students act out in such ways, the best response is not public shaming but creating safe spaces for expression and guidance toward positive change.

“You definitely don’t wanna point the finger and press the Scarlette letter on this kid, like you – you bad. Because we label kids all the time as either good or bad and it doesn’t help with their emotional growth so creating opportunities for those kiddos to have one on one support is important,” said Lakesha Davis, licensed counselor and educator.

Counseling services are being made available to students affected by the incident.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KTVI. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KTVI staff before being published.