Vandalism at Henderson high school called ‘malicious’

Four hooded and masked figures scaled the wall enclosing Coronado High School in Henderson over the weekend and dropped into the courtyard.

Monday morning, shocked students and staff discovered their handiwork.

Four trees in the school’s courtyard had been chopped down. An industrial glue had been jammed into door locks and hinges. And the mural of Coronado’s mascot, a cougar, had been used for paintball gun practice. The face of the cougar, overlooking the courtyard from three stories up, was covered in yellowish brown paint.

“The kids were really upset this morning,” Principal Lee Koelliker said. “They take pride in their school.”

The vandalism was an act of hate, “malicious,” he said. The principal, who has worked at the school since it was constructed in 2001, has seen his share of lighthearted pranks. But this was no prank.

Senior pranks are usually pulled in the spring and are not destructive, but humorous and easily cleaned up. Koelliker has seen the traditional “teepeeing,” where toilet paper is thrown over trees and the building. He’s seen tires somehow stacked on the flagpole and tables stacked a story high.

But these vandals had something against the school, believes Koelliker, who is almost certain the suspects aren’t a rival school’s students but his students, either current or former. He thinks that for a few reasons.

Security cameras at the school, which is near Sunridge Heights Parkway and Coronado Center Drive, recorded the vandalism. Even though the perpetrators couldn’t be identified from footage, they knew locations of all the cameras, dodging their views. They were very familiar with the high school.

Word that these were Coronado students also came from students. But exactly who remains a mystery.

The school is offering a $250 reward for information leading to the vandals’ identities.

Contact reporter Trevon Milliard at
tmilliard@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279.