LAWTON Okla_ Eisenhower High School students walked into a more colorful school Friday, after it was vandalized and its halls doused in watercolor paints.
LPS Public Information Officer Keith Mitchell said LPS police are handling the investigation and believe the vandal broke in overnight. Tubes of water color paint were removed from a locker and used to squirt paint along two hallways, their walls and ceilings and a stairwell.
When our 7News crew got there, the custodians had already wiped the floors clean and were in the process of tackling the walls. Right now, Mitchell said investigators have developed a suspect, but they are not saying whether that person is a student or not.
Either way, as you can imagine school officials are angry, and wondering why someone would do this.
"I was more disgusted than shocked," EHS Principal Rod Elam said. "This really is pointless. There wasn't any benefit to doing it, so it was someone who had little to do and a lot of time to do it."
Elam said he was called in early after the apparent vandalism.
"I saw where paint had be scattered all over the walls," Elam said, "And whatever unlocked lockers we had been opened and looked through."
Elam said their custodians got to work before the school's first bell.
"It takes a few more hands to get dirty and get the cleanup started," Elam said, "But they mopped the floors clean within 20 minutes from the time they began the process."
He said teachers rerouted students to avoid tracking paint through other halls and into classrooms. While the vandal hasn't been identified as a student, Elam said no matter who did it, this is a criminal act.
"This is malicious; this wasn't a prank," Elam said. "We've had pranks here before, and those we kind of snicker and act like we're really upset with the students. There is no prank involved here. This is just someone with too much time on their hands. Who knows what a person thinks when they smear paint all over a hallway?"
Keith Mitchell told us while the paints were used to paint the halls, nothing else was taken or damaged.
7News was at Eisenhower High, but not for long. Our reporter and photographer were kicked off the school's campus, after a disagreement between our reporter and Lawton Public Schools Information Officer Keith Mitchell. Our photographer kept the camera rolling and captured the entire conversation.
Here's how the conversation went:
Mitchell: "The way you're putting the package together makes you sound like it's for sure a student.
7News Reporter Sylvia Corkill: "No, I won't put it together like that."
Mitchell: "Well let's not talk about student pranks or student behavior."
Sylvia: "Well, I mean, I'll write the story, so…"
Mitchell: "Okay, well if that's the way you're going to do it, the interview is over."
Sylvia: "Okay, Keith."
Mitchell: "Okay, I mean we're willing to cooperate, but now we're turning it."
Sylvia: "No, I'm not turning it that way."
Mitchell: "Well, the interview is over. I'll escort you out."
