The Sumter Police Department has charged a 17-year-old accused of tampering with a state sign and having it display a racial slur.

The suspect is considered a juvenile under S.C. law, so his name will not be released. He will be charged with aggravated breach of peace and is being held in a state Department of Juvenile Justice facility, according to Sumter police. […]

The sign was located on South Pike West near Shoney’s and US-76/378 bypass. It was placed there by the Department of transportation to alert drivers to an ongoing construction project, according to police.

Police say the sign belonged to a paving company involved with a road improvement project.

On Saturday, the sign was altered by an unknown person to display an offensive statement. (Submitter’s note: The statement was “HONK IF YOU HATE N******”.)

Officers were notified around 4:30 p.m. and the statement has been removed.

“We will investigate this to the fullest,” Chief Russell Roark said, describing the incident as extremely disturbing, “A scar on the city and its residents that is in no way indicative of the community where we work and live.”