A group of 40 or more current seniors and former students is believed to be responsible for an hourslong act of vandalism causing tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage at Malibu High School.
“Overnight, Malibu High School experienced significant vandalism,” Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Antonio Shelton said in a statement issued Tuesday.
Video cameras showed the vandalism, which included the supergluing of locks, rendering 20 classrooms inaccessible, occurred between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m.
“Additionally, a golf cart was pushed down the stairs and overturned, exterior clocks were pulled
down and damaged, spray paint was used with explicit messages and inappropriate images,
and tables and seating were broken, to name some of the damage,” Shelton stated.
Images and video of the damage posted on the Santa Monica Mirror showed graffiti on classrooms as well as toilet paper, eggs and trash strewn down the campus hallways.
“This behavior is completely unacceptable and negatively impacts the entire Malibu community.
We expect our students to act as responsible members of our community, including in the week
leading up to graduation,” Shelton stated.
While the graduation ceremony is still expected to take place next week, the superintendent said that all individuals involved will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law and the education code, including but not limited to possible restitution for damages and loss of senior privileges.
Anyone with information regarding the incident was urged to report it to the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station at 818-878-1808. Anonymous information can be shared through the community tip line.
The superintendent said that senior vandalism has occurred for more than 15 years at MHS, but informed students that it is a crime with consequences and “not a rite of passage.”
