Fourth suspect charged for racist, antisemitic vandalism at Blue Valley High School
A fourth person, 18-year-old Wade Schemenauer of Kansas City, has been arrested after Blue Valley High School was vandalized with racist and antisemitic messages.
Schemenauer, who was booked into Johnson County jail on Monday and released on $2,500 bond, is facing felony burglary and criminal property damage charges, along with three other teenagers. Last week, two teens from Overland Park, ages 16 and 17, and a 16-year-old from Excelsior Springs, were charged for their alleged involvement in vandalizing the school’s football stadium and press box overnight. School officials discovered the damage on Jan. 16, Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The Star is not naming the teens because they are minors.
School officials and community leaders widely condemned the vandalism as an act of hate. Videos and photos showed racist and homophobic slurs, a swastika and other offensive language spray-painted inside the press box.
“Knowing that I have to attend my high school after this hateful action is extremely upsetting to me as an openly Jewish student,” Blue Valley High School student Emma Sandler said.
The stadium, next to the high school at 6001 W. 159th St. in Overland Park, was closed the following Tuesday while district officials assessed the damage.
The charges were the results of an investigation by the Overland Park Police Department.
Schemenauer is scheduled to appear in court at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 8.
