Inflammatory graffiti sprayed on buildings and throughout school grounds.
By Cathy Neiman/Staff Writer
Malibu High School was vandalized once again early Friday morning, March 14, with damage similar to, but not as extensive as last year’s wreckage after the Memorial Day weekend.
Twenty-four windows were broken in several of the middle school buildings and graffiti was spray painted on several other buildings, including the amphitheater, and on steps leading up to the football field. The most inflammatory graffiti found was a swastika spray painted on the tennis courts.
An alarm sounded at the school about 1:30 a.m. on the morning of March 14, and a bus driver who was on the school grounds heard a car squealing off. When he checked the campus, he found the school had been vandalized. By 2 a.m., Principal Mike Mathews arrived on campus and, shortly after, sheriff’s deputies from the Lost Hills/Malibu Sheriff’s Station.
By the time students arrived at school that morning, the graffiti was painted over and the windows were cleaned and boarded up. Mathews made a brief announcement to the school and apologized for the vandalism. He asked the students to go on with their day as usual.
“The best news I had all day was that everything was cleaned up in time for school,” Mathews said in a phone interview.
Last year, during Memorial Day weekend, Malibu High was vandalized, leaving several windows smashed, classrooms pillaged and derogatory messages written on administrators’ office doors. Two classrooms were ransacked, with computers and furniture damaged. The exterior locks of the school’s gates had been glued over with pennies, leaving the school with estimated damages at $10,000, which is considered a felony. Matthews said there were ideas as to who might have committed last year’s vandalism, but no suspects have been arrested.
Since nothing was stolen this year, and only the exterior of the classrooms were vandalized, the estimated damage does not add up as high as last year’s Memorial Day fiasco.
Sheriff’s deputies have no leads as to who might have committed the vandalism and were unsure as to the dollar amount of the damage.
Sheriff’s Deputy James Biehan, who was one of the deputies on the scene, said there were no clues left at the scene of the crime.
“No spray cans were left behind. We saw no suspicious looking cars on our way to the school. We really have nothing to go on,” he said. “We have no suspects at this time.”
However, Biehan said, “We have spoken with our juvenile team. We are hoping that later on someone will brag about the incident and then it will trickle down to us. It is a typical case of whodunit.”
Meanwhile, students at Malibu High have their own theories as to who might have committed the vandalism.
Senior Morgan Roberts said, “Maybe it was people who used to go to school here who were expelled.”
Jordan King, a junior, said he thought, “It was a rival school.”
When asked if they thought the swastikas were a symbol of racism or used for pure shock value, they both answered they felt it was for shock value.
“I don’t think that the people who did this have anything against Jewish people,” Roberts said. “I think it was just stupid kids.”
When asked about how they felt about the vandalism, they both said, “It was stupid and a waste of the school’s money.”
Some students had no idea the school was even vandalized the night before.
“We were vandalized? Again?” asked one student.
“Was that why “Lunatics” was written on the amphitheater?” asked Parisa Bines, a ninth-grader.
When a counselor asked her what she thought that meant, Bines shrugged her shoulders and replied, “Gang-related, maybe?”
One teacher (who preferred to remain anonymous) thinks it was students who currently attend Malibu High.
“It was probably something to do with the upcoming prom. Maybe the students were banned from prom and they decided to retaliate.”
Most people feel the act was incredibly stupid and a waste of time and the school’s money. One student said, “That money could have spent on new computers for the school. It makes me so mad!”
There is a $500 reward for tips leading to the culprits who vandalized Malibu High School. To report an anonymous tip, call 1.800.78CRIME.