May 19—Three Linganore High School seniors have been disciplined for an alleged "senior prank" that included a racist epithet spelled out on school property on Monday, a county school official said on Friday.

A video collage circulating on social media this week showed a photo of the epithet, along with other images that were part of the prank, according to a statement from Linganore High School Principal Michael Dillman.

Dillman said the epithet was directed toward African American students and by the time school officials were notified on Monday, the epithet had been removed.

School officials immediately investigated the incident, according to Dillman.

In his statement on Wednesday, Dillman wrote, "While it appears that this video was created as a 'prank,' we do not take this incident lightly and we recognize the harm done by the hateful speech directed toward Black African American students."

He added that FCPS has no tolerance for discriminatory language and hate speech and that officials are committed to preventing and eradicating racism at the school.

Brandon Oland, communications manager for Frederick County Public Schools, wrote in an email that "appropriate discipline was given" to the three seniors.

When asked what disciplinary actions were taken, Oland wrote that the school system's policy is to not disclose that information.

Oland said FCPS discerned that the video collage was a senior prank because it was shared on social media on the seniors' last day of school and included the students engaging in "silly acts," along with posing next to the racial slur.

The Frederick County Sheriff's Office was initially involved in the investigation, but sheriff's office spokesperson Todd Wivell said on Friday that the state's attorney office advised that there were no criminal charges that would apply.

Wivell said this was strictly an FCPS internal investigation.

FCPS Superintendent Cheryl Dyson addressed the incident and investigation at a Board of Education meeting on Wednesday.

"I was very saddened about an issue that happened at Linganore High School — the n-word being used, again ...," Dyson said. "I just want to be clear: We are going to discipline our students for being disrespectful."

Dyson said those acts do not represent what FCPS stands for and there would be consequences for the students' actions.

"Let's not have any more of the racial intimidation and bias towards each other," she said. "We are here to care for and take care of each other."

Willie Mahone, president of the NAACP's Frederick chapter, said in an interview on Friday that what occurred at Linganore was a systemic issue that requires a transparent, school systemwide investigation on how these matters are handled.

"The investigation should extend beyond this incident. The investigation should be of the overall system," Mahone said.

Mahone said he was not surprised that the incident, which he called a "pestilence," occurred, yet it was "abominable."

Mahone said the racist epithet requires a strong message to students and the community that the incident was not simply a prank, but quite serious.

Students are impressionable, Mahone said, and it's the school system's responsibility to ensure that they are good citizens.

"They are malleable," Mahone said. "We have an opportunity in our public school system to help produce the kind of citizens that we want to have and we should take advantage of that, as opposed to treating it in a defensive posture."