Where in the FU** are these hoodlums parents?
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Classrooms trashed
Vandals cause $40,000 worth of damage at Liberty
By CHRISTOPHER MOSS and VARUN SHANKAR/Special to the Daily Press
VICTORVILLE — A group of children, some possibly as young as 5, went on a vandalism spree, causing up to $40,000 in damage to 10 classrooms at Liberty Elementary School, sheriff's officials said Monday.
Sheriff's deputies are asking for the public's help in identifying the vandals from a security video.
A custodian who went to work Monday called the sheriff's station about 6 a.m. to report the damage which happened Sunday afternoon, San Bernardino County Sheriff's Deputy Tim Jimerson said.
"It was mostly just destruction," Jimerson said. "For the most part it looks like they're leaving stuff behind."
CAUGHT ON TAPE
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department believes the youths captured on this video image from a camera on the campus of Liberty Elementary are the suspects that caused $40,00 worth of vandalism.
Jimerson estimated the ages of the five or six vandals ranged up to 16, and said they were all black males and females, according to images on the videotape.
Shattered glass filled the walkways and the rooms, which were littered with papers, overturned desks and more glass from broken televisions, projectors and computers.
An old piano in one room was filled with blue paint, and fire extinguishers were discharged in another. Every one of the 10 rooms was a complete mess.
Profanity and other derogatory language was written on the whiteboards of some classrooms, while others had messages such as "Sorry for the trouble" and "Sorry Mrs. Shaner" on their blackboards.
Teachers and administrators received calls early Monday morning about the vandalism, and some teachers were coming in from their vacations to clean up the classrooms.
"(I'm) sick to my stomach," said Patty Morentin, a fourth-grade teacher at the school.
"I'm most upset because they destroyed the gifts the kids bought for me," Morentin said, unable to hold back tears.
Morentin and Jeannie Russell, teachers in adjacent rooms, both said they would do "whatever it takes" to get the rooms ready before the school, which is on a year-round schedule, resumes Sept. 7.
"It just takes so many hours to make this nice for kids," Russell said. "It's going to take that many (more) hours to put it back together."
Despite the setback, Principal Ailene Cammon said the teachers will be able to get the classrooms back in order by the time school starts.
Cammon also said somebody will now be at the school 24-hours a day to prevent similar instances in the future.
Insurance will help cover the costs of the damages, but Cammon said the school district will replace the broken material as quickly as possible — even if the insurance money hasn't yet been received — to make sure students are not affected.
Anyone with information on the vandalism is urged to call Detective Milt Rose at the Victorville sheriff's station at 241-2911. Anonymous tips are welcome. Information may also be phoned in to WeTip at (800) 78-CRIME.