19-year-old charged with drawing swastikas on softball field at Hudson middle school

A 19-year-old man has been charged with drawing swastikas in the dirt of a Hudson middle school’s softball field, according to police. 

Hudson police said the department first received a report of the swastikas drawn at Quinn Middle School on Nov. 2. The investigation into the incident was ongoing when the department received another report of the hate symbol drawn in the dirt of the softball field behind the middle school on Nov. 15. 

When officers responded to the softball field last week, they found a 19-year-old Hudson man suffering from a mental health crisis, according to police. 

“The department connected that individual to services to address his mental health crisis,” the department said in a statement. “A further investigation led the department to summons that 19-year-old male to Marlborough District Court to face a charge of vandalizing property in connection with allegedly drawing swastikas in the dirt of the softball field.”

Police did not release the man’s name, but said it will be made public after his arraignment in Middleborough District Court. 

“The swastika symbol has a well-known history of hatred, anti-Semitism and racism, and such symbols have no place in Hudson,” Chief Richard DiPersio said in a statement. “I want to thank the members of the community and school department that helped us identify and charge a suspect in this case.”