Nazi, skinhead graffiti found in derelict Fernald school in Waltham

A long-abandoned mental health institution in Waltham has been tagged with swastikas and other racist graffiti, in the latest example of hateful vandalism across the region.

Bryan Parcival, a film instructor who has photographed the Walter E. Fernald Developmental Center over the years, says the sprawling 196-acre campus has long been marred by graffiti, broken windows and other vandalism.

The Fernald, once the oldest institution for people with developmental disabilities in the western hemisphere, closed a decade ago, and the property was sold to the city of Waltham. The city has considered various proposals to use the site for veterans housing or recreation.

But the property remains derelict, and Parcival said he was shocked when he recently found one of the buildings covered with references to Nazis, skinheads and racists and antisemitic taunts. The graffiti also called for killing people who are Jewish, Black, Muslim, Hispanic or LGBTQ.

"This was absolutely horrifying," Parcival said. "Somebody is using that building as a canvas of hate."

Parcival said he worried that multiple references to the Hammerskins — a neo-Nazi skinhead group — meant they may be using the building.

"It very well could be just disturbed teenagers," he said, but "it was the concentration that made me take notice."

The Waltham Police Department said in a statement it was aware of the graffiti, but didn't have any indication that any known hate groups are operating in the area.

"Most encounters of people on the property have been juveniles or young adults from various area communities," said the statement, provided by Deputy Chief Steven Champeon.

The graffiti is just the latest instance of racist threats made in the state.

Massachusetts logged 440 hate incidents in 2022, the highest tally in two decades, according to a report last fall by the state's Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. Nearly one-third of the reports related to vandalism and destruction of property.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has logged tens of thousands of sightings of racist flyers and banners, including many in Massachusetts, in recent years.

But a researcher at the civil rights center said she also doubted the graffiti at Fernald was linked to an organized group.

"It's kind of a grab bag of racist slogans," said Cassie Miller, a senior research analyst at the Southern Poverty Law Center. "There's nothing in the pictures that would point to any specific organization."

Miller said people who leave hateful graffiti are typically afraid to show their face, adding, "It's not like the bravest act."

She said the best thing the community leaders can do is denounce the racism.

"Simply ignoring something doesn't make it go away," Miller said. "The best thing to do is to show that you're not intimidated by it."

Waltham police said the Fernald has been a frequent target of vandalism. Officers have arrested or sought charges against more than 50 people linked to crimes at the sprawling property in the past 18 months.

Both federal and state agencies have reportedly launched investigations after confidential documents were found strewn around the school. Spokespeople for the state police, the state Executive Office of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to questions about the status of those investigations.

Waltham police asked anyone with information about crime at the school to call its anonymous tip line at 781-314-3636 or its non-emergency line at 781-314-3600.