SNOHOMISH — Vandals ransacked Snohomish High School early Monday morning, toppling computers, bookshelves and a trophy case.
A 4 a.m. call from an alarm company alerted officers to two people inside the school’s B building, police and school officials said. Officers arrived to take two teens into custody.
Damage at the scene could top $100,000, with at least 50 computers pushed over.
“Some of them were knocked on the ground and stomped on,” Snohomish police Cmdr. Fred Havener said.
After the initial call from dispatchers, police from Snohomish and neighboring departments quickly surrounded the building, Havener said. They detained a 16-year-old girl from Snohomish and a 17-year-old boy from Lynnwood as they tried to flee.
“Those are the only two we have reason to believe were part of this,” Havener said.
There appears to have been no motive, he said. Whether either of the teens had ties to the school wasn’t immediately known.
The girl also is accused of assaulting a Lake Stevens officer while being taken into custody. That officer was not hurt and was able to continue working.
The pair was booked into the Denny Youth Center in Everett for investigation of second-degree burglary, Havener said. The girl also is being investigated for third-degree assault.
The Snohomish School District issued a statement Monday saying that it was working to tally the extent of the damage.
The vandalism occurred in the library, the attendance office, counseling office and some hallways, according to the district. Pictures show hundreds of books on the floor and a smashed antique Dewey Decimal cabinet.
A trophy case also was a casualty, with several trophies broken, Havener said. Which events the awards were for was initially unclear.
That could come as a tough blow for the Snohomish High School Panthers, state champs in several sports over the years. They include state titles for boys and girls swimming, boys and girls soccer, football and baseball, among others.
Sophomore Dustin Wiseman, 16, who was playing tennis at the school on Monday afternoon, said that other students had been raising money to better display the school’s awards.
“It bothers me because we’ve been fundraising to put those trophies up,” he said.
At The Coffee Bean espresso stand a short ways down Avenue D from the school, 2009 graduate Amanda Alsted lamented the damage to computers at a time of budget cuts. Beyond the money, though, there’s the question of honor.
“Snohomish is really big on tradition and one thing we really pride ourselves on is sports and even trophies for education,” she said.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
