JONESBORO, Ga. (AP) - Authorities are investigating a prank at Jonesboro High School in which the school was vandalized with spray paint and dead animals.
The suspects, who were wearing masks, broke into the school early Tuesday morning and quickly spray painted surveillance cameras, school spokesman Charles White said.
They then went on a vandalism spree.
A dead opossum was placed behind a drink machine and another in the machine's vending compartment, which caused a stench in the building, police said.
The suspects also left messages in red spray paint on the baseball field, asphalt track, bleachers, floors, signs and columns. The graffiti said things such as "05," "Class of 05," "seniors rule" and "black power." Damage to the baseball field involved gouges taken out of the pitchers mound, digging up home plate and burning "05" into the field, White said.
The vandalism caused $7,000 in damage.
The fact that the cameras were spray painted suggests the incident was an inside job done by students at the school, White said.
"There is an alarm system," he said. "We are investigating to see whether the alarm went off No. 1. We're also looking into whether someone may have known the codes."
Clayton County Police Capt. Jeff Turner said police have some good leads in the case, adding that two paint cans were left at the scene.
The perpetrators could face charges of criminal trespass, burglary and criminal damage, some of which could lead to time behind bars, Turner said.
"If they're seniors doing it (and) they're 18 years old, they're old enough to go to jail," Turner said. "And that's exactly where they'll go."
