At least 23 black students at St. Paul's School in Concord, N.H., were sent anonymous letters that school representatives described as "hate mail" on Tuesday. The Concord Police Department is currently investigating the incident and will maintain a presence at the private boarding school until the end of its winter term.
According to The New York Times, several people associated with St. Paul's reported that the letters, which were postmarked from Manchester, N.H., contained a photo of the addressee inscribed with the phrase "bang bang get out of here."
Jana Brown '94, a spokesperson for St. Paul's, said she could not comment on the specific content of the letters as she had not seen them, but added that she did not believe that photos of the targeted students had been included in the letters. Brown said approximately 40 to 45 of St. Paul's 524 students are black.
School officials contacted the police immediately after several students told their advisors about the letters, Brown said.
"During the course of the investigation, the police found more letters waiting for kids in their post office boxes," she said.
Lt. Keith Mitchell of the Concord Police Department said he could not comment on how police obtained the additional letters and could not speculate on the identity of the suspect or suspects because the investigation is still ongoing.
A former St. Paul's student whose brother is still attending the boarding school said in an interview with The Dartmouth that "a number of students of color have gone home until spring break." The Dartmouth was unable to confirm this statement by press time.
The perpetrator may face federal charges because the letters were mailed to the affected students' school mailboxes via the U.S. Postal Service, Mitchell said in an interview with The Concord Monitor.
Bill Matthews, the rector of St. Paul's, discussed the letters with the student body and faculty at a special assembly held on Tuesday and also released a statement on St. Paul's website. The statement was also sent to parents via e-mail.
"It is an outrage," Matthews said in the statement, "While only some were threatened directly, we all have been wounded by this."
Brown similarly said she felt the incident had affected the entire school.
"It's a very caring and close-knit community," she said. "It's really upsetting for everyone, not just the students who got the letters."
Sarah Van Dyke '09, an alumna of St. Paul's, said she remembered the student body as "pretty diverse."
"I thought people were very accepting," Van Dyke said, adding that she did not recall any similar incidents during her time at the school.
Nick Foukal '10 was "shocked" to hear of the incident, he told The Dartmouth in an e-mail.
