Teens vandalize Marysville middle school, write racial slurs, try to steal electronics

MARYSVILLE, Wash. — Marysville police say inside Totem Middle School they caught two teens in the act of vandalizing.  Police say they ripped out a projector, sprayed fire extinguishers down the hall, attempted to steal electronics -- and left a message.

"There were some epithets scrawled on the floor and one white board in a classroom,” Craig Degginger with the Marysville School District told us.

Police say the slurs were racist.  The school district is frustrated; they passed a levy last year for front door cameras but they haven't been installed yet, and just last night Marysville held a crime prevention event.

"This is the kind of thing unfortunately that happens and ironically right after the National Night Out,” Degginger explained.

But then there’s this: The same week the teens broke into the school and caused a felony amount of damage dozens of other teens and adults are involved in a massive project to clean up Totem.

"We just heard about the vandalism this morning,” Kacey Walker with The Grove Church in Marysville told us.

He and the other volunteers weren’t originally at Totem to clean up after the vandals; they're here for a week helping beautify the school, and what happened doesn’t discourage Walker.

“Those guys showed why we're out here, the chaos will continue and there's more work to be done,” he said.

And the community is grateful.  While Kacey was on a lunch break someone left a note by his chainsaw.

"The sign says ‘thank you, I heart Marysville, from a totem middle school grandma and neighbor.  God Bless,’” he read, holding it up.  "This is my paycheck right here."

Police say they're still investigating and there could be more suspects.  The two teens arrested are facing second-degree burglary and malicious mischief charges.

KIRO