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Chicago School Alerts Police after Meme Depicting Shooting of Jews and Dark Skinned People Shared with Students

Police have been notified after antisemitic, racist and homophobic messages were shared with students at Jones College Prep, according to Chicago Public Schools officials.

The messages and memes, posted on what school officials called a non-CPS-authorized server of the group-chatting app Discord, contained “concerning and abusive language” and “also statements that would be considered threatening in nature,” according to a message sent Friday to the school community.

Jones officials said because of the “serious nature” of the messages, they have “looped in the Chicago Police Department, the (CPS) Office of Student Protections and the CPS Office of Safety and Security.”

The note said the aim of a pending investigation is “to identify the source of these unacceptable postings.”

Jones officials said counselors are available for students who were “exposed to this incident and would benefit from support.”

An email to Jones administration Monday returned an out-of-office reply noting the district is on spring break this week.

Chicago police did not provide further details, but CPD spokesperson Sally Bown said CPD had an incident report last Wednesday afternoon for electronic harassment in the 700 block of South State Street, where Jones is located.

“A public safety services employee reported that, during an online event, a message from an unknown source posted on the screen. The message contained profanity and anti-Semitic remarks. This event ended without further incident,” according to an email from Bown.

The district did not clarify if the police report was related to the Discord messages.

Screenshots shared with the Tribune show members of the Discord chat posting swastikas and other hate symbols. One member used a slur for gay people and wrote, “Pride month canceled.” In response to a question about who was attending the “eagle games” — the Jones team name is the Eagles — another user wrote of bringing an automatic rifle and shooting Jewish and dark-skinned people, who were described using a racial slur. Attached was an image stating, “The era of Jewish control is now over.”