Staten Island teen facing hate-crime rap for 'KKK' scrawl

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A white student was charged with a hate crime Tuesday for scrawling "KKK" on the back of a black classmate after the Staten Island boy fell asleep in school, authorities said.

Howard Gibson, a student at St. Peter's Boys High School on Staten Island, woke up in class Monday to find the initials for the Ku Klux Klan written in chalk on the back of his sweater and pants, police sources said.

Gibson's mother reported the incident to police Tuesday, and cops from Staten Island's 120th Precinct and the NYPD hate crimes task force went to the Catholic high school.

A spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of New York said the white, 15-year-old student confessed to drawing on his classmate but said it was meant to be a "prank."

The white student was charged as a juvenile with second-degree aggravated harassment as a hate crime. An archdiocese spokesman confirmed the student was issued a summons and released into the custody of his parents.