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 say they were notified about mischief to a flagpole at Emily Stowe Public School in Norwich on Sunday.
The night before, around 10:30 p.m., investigators say two suspects attended the school on Jerdon Street, cut down a metal flagpole and removed a Pride flag. Police say the suspects then fled towards Stover Street.
Police are searching for two male suspects who appear to be in their late teens or early 20s. One of them is described as having a thin build and was wearing a light-coloured shirt, blue shorts and dark-coloured boots. The second person is described as having a thin build and was wearing a light-coloured hat, a black T-shirt and blue pants.
Five days prior, 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 lit it on fire.
OPP Const. Randi Crawford told Global News that while the suspect descriptions differ slightly, investigators are considering the two incidents to be related.
Following the first act of vandalism, Oxford County warden Marcus Ryan said he was deeply saddened.
“While a flag can be replaced, the message behind an act like this cannot be ignored,” he wrote in a message to the community. “It was an attempt to intimidate and exclude people for simply being themselves.”
Oxford County Pride said in a statement on social media that both incidents are a “direct attack” on the safety and belonging of the community.
“This isn’t simple property damage. It is a deliberate, coordinated campaign to intimidate our community and target 2SLGBTQIA+ youth,” the organization said on social media Sunday. “They can destroy a flagpole, but they cannot break our commitment to protecting and supporting one another.”
Anyone with information or surveillance footage of either incident is asked to contact police.
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