The search is on for the vandals who broke into a school in southwest Iowa’s Page County over the weekend.
Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers says the vandalism at Clarinda High School likely took place late Saturday or early Sunday. It was discovered Sunday morning.
Chief Brothers says it’s not immediately clear how the vandals got into the building. “Once inside, the individuals ‘tagged’ a lot of property within the school with spray paint,” Brothers says, “spray painting various things. He wouldn’t say what words were painted on the walls.
Brothers says the vandals also used several fire extinguishers to make a mess. “They discharged those, creating a tremendous amount of damage to electronic computer equipment within the building itself,” he says. School officials this morning, were still going over the high school checking for damage, which will likely exceed $10,000. Because of the extent of the damage, Brothers says the incident is considered a felony offense.
“Vandalism is one of those crimes that I really have a hard time understanding,” he says. “There’s nothing to be gained at all from absolute malicious destruction of property.”
Page County Crimestoppers is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible. Tipsters may remain anonymous. Contact the Clarinda Police Department at 712-542-2194 with any information.
(By Ric Hanson, KJAN, Atlantic)