*Students and alumni of several Baltimore-area schools have sparked outrage over their choice of racially-charged Halloween costumes, including one of Freddie Gray, the African American man who was placed in the back of a police transport van during what a state prosecutor later deemed was an illegal arrest.
Gray died from a serious spinal injury, sparking protests across Baltimore and beyond.
Several photos appeared on social media, including one that showed a graduate from the Boys’ Latin School of Maryland wearing an orange jumpsuit with “Freddie Gray” written on his back, the Baltimore Sun reported. The photo was taken at an off-campus party at the College of Charleston in South Carolina, according to President Glenn McConnell, who said the incident is now under investigation.
Another social media photo showed students from the Gilman School and Roland Park Country School posing in orange jumpsuits, with a Snapchat caption that read, “N—-s broke out,” CBS reported. A third photo showed a St. Paul’s School student with a swastika and racial slur scrawled on his bare back.
Former Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, whose daughter attends Roland Park, took to Facebook with her frustration, writing: “Heartbroken. Disappointed. Frustrated.”
“It will undoubtedly be a rough day for my daughter tomorrow. Praying I find the words to help her make sense of this nonsense,” she added.
Gilman and Roland Park officials issued a statement saying they were taking the situation seriously, although they also pointed out that the person who snapped the photo and wrote the caption was not a student at either school.
St. Paul’s School said it was investigating the off-campus incident, adding that it “does not tolerate any form of hate or discrimination.”
Watch CBS Baltimore’s report on the incidents below: