Vandalism at Jefferson school construction site
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WARREN, Ohio - Construction crews are busy this summer building additions at schools in the Warren School District.
But when workers arrived at Jefferson K-8 Thursday morning, they realized their project site was the target of vandalism.
Shattered windows, insulation ripped to shreds and oil leaking onto the ground disheartens workers for Mike Coates Construction when they discovered damage to several items.
"You come in. You're just trying to get a job done and make the community better, but you come in and you're thrown to a screeching halt from the beginning," said Scott Owen, Mike Coates Construction Superintendent.
Owen believes the vandalism happened sometime overnight, but this wasn't the first time.
He says a couple of windows were broken on their excavator Tuesday night.
On Thursday, almost all of the glass is shattered.
A roller's hydraulic line was cut. Oil seeping out created a puddle underneath and inappropriate messages were written on it.
The company told police glue was even found inside a gas tank of one of the heavy pieces of equipment.
Along with damage done to the equipment, there's also vandalism that was found inside the school addition under construction.
It's on the second floor. It's not safe for anyone to go up there, but they say there's some graffiti and the site's superintendent tells 21 News he hopes that the graffiti leaves some clues that lead police to suspects.
"I've heard they have some images on the video tape, so hopefully they can come up with who did it," Owen said.
A school employee tells police in a report that the suspects were caught on camera.
Warren police say they're still investigating. They do not have any suspects and it's too soon for a damage estimate.
The school needs the extra space for students. Owen hopes they track down who's responsible for making this mess before then.