Vandal breaks into Clay High School

Clay High School was the target today of one vandal who broke into the school and caused extensive damage, police say. An alarm at the school first alerted police at 5:17 a.m., said St. Joseph County police spokesman Sgt. Bill Redman. Besides a burglary alarm, the school’s fire alarm was also triggered, sending Clay Township firefighters to the scene as well. Police arrived at the school six minutes later to find that a glass pane on the front door of the school had been broken. Inside the school, police say, they found numerous broken windows and damaged video surveillance cameras. Police said the vandal also discharged several fire extinguishers on both the first and second floors of the school. Redman said the suspect apparently found a bicycle that was kept inside the school. Police reported finding damage caused by someone riding around the school. Despite the damage to some surveillance cameras, police were able to capture images of the suspect on camera. Although the images are blurry, Redman said the suspect is believed to be a teenager. Police are asking anyone with information about the incident or the suspect to call Detective Phil Williams at (574) 235-9569 or Crime Stoppers at (574) 288-STOP. Despite the extent of the vandalism, it had no affect on students or teachers at the school, as the South Bend School Corp. is on spring break this week. Redman said a final estimate of the damage caused by the vandalism has not been determined. Staff writer Dave Stephens: dstephens@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6209