CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV)— Officials confirmed Friday night that a 15-year-old was taken into custody in connection with the graffiti at Camarena Elementary School in Chula Vista, with assistance from the FBI.
Around 7 p.m., the teen was arrested without incident at a local high school football game while investigators were serving a search warrant at his home in Chula Vista, near the elementary school, according to a press release from the police department. He is facing felony hate crime and felony vandalism charges.
In less than a week, the school was vandalized three times. The first incident was reported on Sunday, Aug. 18, with the graffiti consisting of racial slurs targetting various races, swastikas and other "concerning words and symbols," according to a CVPD press release. Later that evening, officers responded after a custodian, who was cleaning the graffiti at the school, said they saw someone on campus, but officers could not locate anyone.
A local news team working a story at the school found newer graffiti at the front of the school at around 5 a.m. the following day.
Police said a staff member at the elementary school reported the latest vandalism incident on Wednesday, Aug. 21. The staff said they found additional graffiti at the back of the school before students arrived.
Despite the arrest, the police department said it is continuing its investigation into the series of vandalism.
“I want the community to know, as a parent myself, I acknowledged their fears and concerns from the onset," CVPD Chief Roxana Kennedy said in the release. "While we couldn’t discuss our specific strategies publicly, my department made finding the person responsible for causing this fear its top priority. These hateful acts are unacceptable, and we will not tolerate behavior like this in our community...”
Anyone with information is asked to contact San Diego County Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477 or submit tips anonymously online or through the P3tips mobile application.
