Community helps find vandals who broke into elementary school in Harvey -- twice
HARVEY, Ill. (CBS) -- Community members were being hailed as hometown heroes Wednesday after they worked together to catch a group of teens who had been caught on camera breaking into an elementary school.
As CBS 2's Jermont Terry reported, the teenage thieves gained entry to Whittier Elementary School in Harvey through the back window. While they covered their faces, that did not stop the community from identifying them – leading to their now facing charges.
Just before midnight last Friday night, two guys and two girls broke into Whittier Elementary and began wandering through the school.
"It concerned us, because we knew we had people in our building that should not have been there," said Harvey School District 152 Interim Supt. Lela Bridges-Webb.
Bridges-Webb said the intruders ransacked desks, cabinets, and file cabinets. They walked away with grocery bags full of school supplies.
Yet two days later, the alarm went off again. This time, two from the crew returned.
"The vandalism that took place," Bridges-Webb said.
In the second round, they walked away with an office chair – and even more supplies, which the students in the district desperately need. School officials were concerned if there were a third break-in, it could escalate even more.
"Absolutely," Bridges-Webb said. "That's one reason why we knew we had to act - and act quickly."
The school district took images of the thieves and posted flyers on social media – hoping they'd get lucky.
"It was out less than an hour, the calls started coming in," said Bridges-Webb. "Within less than 24 hours, we knew who they were, the ages, where they lived - and police were contacted."
Supt. Bridges-Webb credits the Harvey community for stepping up and caring enough to say school break-ins can't be accepted.
"We really do want our schools not only protected - we want them respected," she said.
Harvey police arrested three of the four break-in suspects, and the school district plans to press charges. Bridges-Webb hopes this will send a message to everyone.
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Our schools are meant to be utilized, not vandalized," she said.
Bridges-Webb hopes this was the wake-up call the youngsters needed.
"I'm hoping this will be lesson that if it's learned early in life, perhaps 20 years from now, we won't read about them in the newspaper about them going to jail," she said.
The perps range in age from 15 to 20 years old. We are told some of them once attended Whittier themselves.