Update, June 17: MCPD arrested and charged three suspects, two 17-year-olds and 18-year-old Jake Foster Hoffman, in the vandalism. All three are residents of Montgomery County.

Montgomery County Police are investigating racist graffiti that was painted at the predominantly white Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda on Friday night, the second such incident at the school this year.

According to a letter from Principal Robert Dodd, the graffiti included “the n-word and a drawing of a noose.” It was discovered on Saturday morning and quickly covered up.

“I want to emphasize as strongly as possible that this racist and destructive behavior will not be tolerated in the Walt Whitman High School community,” wrote Dodd in the letter to students, staff and parents. “If it is discovered that our students were involved, they will receive serious consequences and may face additional charges from Montgomery County Police.”

It’s not the first incident at the school, or surrounding community. The same type of graffiti was found at the school in late February. Last year, two Whitman students posted a photo in blackface and used the n-word on social media. And in early 2019, students at nearby Winston Churchill High School were caught trading “passes” that allowed them to say the n-word.

The latest round of graffiti comes amid nationwide protests over the killing of George Floyd and widespread conversations about racial inequality they have sparked. Students at the school — which is two-thirds white — led a march from the campus to downtown Bethesda in early June, and led two forums this week titled “Racism Ends With Us.”

“While I’m deeply discouraged by what occurred today, it will not deter us from our collective mission to end racism and build a safe and inclusive school community where ALL students can thrive,” wrote Dodd.

Writing on Twitter, Montgomery County Councilmember Andrew Friedson called this weekend’s incident “completely unacceptable and yet another reminder of how far we have to go to be a truly accepting and inclusive community.”

The incident at Whitman also comes two weeks after the June 2 primary, where a hotly contested school board race sharply divided candidates and voters over rumored plans to redraw school districts in Montgomery County, one of Maryland’s most affluent areas — but also one where some schools are heavily segregated. Some parents have angrily pushed back at an ongoing analysis of school boundaries, saying they fear having their children bused long distances. Others say that redrawing boundaries is the best way to integrate schools, both racially and economically.

Stephen Austin, a first-time candidate who ran on a platform of protecting “neighborhood schools,” placed third in the school board race, trailing apparent winners Sunil Dasgupta and Lynne Harris. Both Dasgupta and Harris have said they support analyzing new school boundaries.

Earlier this week, County Councilmember Will Jawando introduced legislation to declare racism a public health emergency.