Teenager suspected of vandalizing Central Catholic chapel with LGBTQ graffiti

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A 16-year-old boy spray painted LGBTQ graffiti Wednesday outside of the Central Catholic High School chapel, Lafayette police said.

The vandal struck in the early afternoon Wednesday, and school officials covered up the vandalism on the walls with plywood.

The vandal returned about 6:10 p.m. Wednesday and spray painted new messages on the plywood covering the earlier graffiti. The graffiti read, "Queer Lives Matter" and "God loves trans kids too," police said.

The vandalism included inverted crosses spray painted on the chapel's stained-glass windows, according to police reports.

Information from a license plate led officers to a home in the 1700 block of South 13th Street, where they arrested the 16-year-old boy at 6:45 p.m., according to police.

Ashley Smith, the president of Pride Lafayette, reached out to the Journal & Courier with a statement about the vandalism.

"The board of directors of Pride Lafayette wants to ensure that everyone is aware that we do not condone this type of behavior at all," Smith said in the statement. "This act was nothing but criminal.

"It is not OK for our community as a whole to see this, and we find this reprehensible," Smith said.

"Someone is clearly trying to divide the community, more so than we are as a society. This individual clearly needs some guidance.

"We are sorry that Central Catholic must deal with this," Smith said. "We have offered our help in cleaning this up.

"We are all neighbors and part of the same greater community."

After being arrested, the teen was taken to the juvenile facility at the Tippecanoe County Jail and later released to a parent, police said.

Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Teen suspected of spray painting LGBTQ graffiti on Central Catholic