WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: School break-in leaves ‘a lot of vandalism’

These photos, sent to WSB anonymously, were circulated among Lafayette Elementary staff after burglar(s) vandalized the school over the long holiday weekend. We confirmed the burglary today with Seattle Police and obtained the report narrative. Police were called Sunday morning and were told it happened sometime between Thursday and Sunday. The school custodian discovered the damage and showed it to officers, who described it as “a lot of vandalism … open cartons of milk spilled on the floor, food strewn all over the floor, and someone had thrown paint all over the room.” These photos and others show damage in multiple areas inside the school.

The report also notes “some of the electronic equipment was also destroyed” and that the officers were unable to determine how the burglar(s) got in. School is out for one more week; we are seeking more information from Seattle Public Schools on the damage and what’s needed for repairs.

26 Replies to "WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: School break-in leaves 'a lot of vandalism'"

  • bolo December 27, 2021 (4:52 pm)

    Cannot even begin to imagine a reason for this wasteful activity. :-(

  • John December 27, 2021 (4:53 pm)

    I thought most schools had some sort of security system. I’m surprised the police weren’t able to determine how they got in. I wonder if a window was inadvertently left unlocked or something

    • Highland Park Resident December 27, 2021 (6:05 pm)

      I’m a teacher in the district. I have been in a building with the alarm going off and surprised the district security person when I called to explain that a coworker had set the alarm with me still in the building. It is not surprising, but should be, that this went unnoticed for a long weekend. 

  • Orb December 27, 2021 (5:04 pm)

    Wow. How pathetic it is for someone to break into a school and destroy things. Wonder if the person feels proud…? Accomplished? Hope they get what they deserve in life. 

  • Linda December 27, 2021 (5:20 pm)

    How can we help clean up? Can we join a crew?

    • Rooster December 27, 2021 (5:43 pm)

      Linda, Thanks for your comment. You are looking for a way to take action and help. You are among the best kind of people. I hope you get a response from the school. 

    • Colonel Mustard's Wrench December 27, 2021 (6:35 pm)

      Yes, how can we help ?

    • Rb December 27, 2021 (7:03 pm)

      I agree with the other commenters. We need more Lindas and less of the others. Thank you for being part of the solution. 

      • Daniel Hanes December 29, 2021 (12:33 am)

        I like it! Offering assistance rather than criticizing and complaining. Can we make this a thing for 2022? So long Karen hello Linda!!

    • Teri Ensley December 28, 2021 (12:26 am)

      Linda…I was wondering the same thing!  Would be awesome if some us could get together to help clean up/restore the school before it reopens.

    • Mellow Kitty December 28, 2021 (8:56 am)

      I’m in! 

  • Cid December 27, 2021 (5:33 pm)

    This makes me sick. As a retired teacher I know how much pride and care we put into our schools. The vandals (hopefully caught quickly) should have community service hours cleaning this up!

  • R2 December 27, 2021 (5:48 pm)

    Yes, how can we help!

  • onion December 27, 2021 (5:50 pm)

    Saddened to think of these t*rds walking and living among us. How pointless. If they are still juveniles, what kind of adults/men/women will they turn out to be?

  • Gina December 27, 2021 (7:02 pm)

    There was a power outage late Thursday/ early Friday in this area, alarm may have needed a reset afterwards?

  • Former Westseattlite and friend December 27, 2021 (8:28 pm)

    This is really terrible and senseless.

    Great attitude, those offering to help clean this up 👍

    Can’t help wondering who would do this, and what is going on in their life. If kids, why are they acting out in such a way? What is their home life like? Are they having trouble in school? If adults, what has happened to them to lead to this kind of nonsense? Are they suffering?  On drugs?

  • Bogie December 27, 2021 (9:20 pm)

    I am not a representative of the school, but am a former parent. For those looking to help, the pta at the school helps fill gaps a lot. You can donate directly through their web page
    https://www.lafayettepta.com/donate

    • Teri Ensley December 28, 2021 (12:27 am)

      Thanks Bogie!

  • Kirsten Franklin-Temple December 28, 2021 (7:20 am)

    Many thanks to all of our neighbors that have chimed in asking what can we done to help out. We are working on getting additional information on the extent of the damage and hope that we can coordinate a community clean up so the school is ready for students to return on January 3. We will share additional details as soon as possible via Lafayette social media, family listserv, and with the blog. While we’re not sure of the exact items that will need to be replaced, donations to the PTA are always welcome so we’re ready to meet the needs of our teachers and students at a moments notice.Unfortunately, whoever broke into the school is most likely in our community. Please call the police non-emergency number to share any information you may have about the break-in (206) 625-5011.Thanks for the support West Seattle!– Lafayette PTA President

  • Saddened yet hopeful December 28, 2021 (7:50 am)

    Saddened by senseless vandalism. Heartened by community response!!! As a family of educators who care, love, and scarifice for students and society (over generations) I hope someone fesses up to this, overhears the chatter about it, and reports it to school admin. The nature of the crime seems juvenile. Whoever (and their friend(s?) did this have some serious growing up to do. There is bound to be evidence and chatter.  Hopefully financial restitution to the district is included in creating/restoring justice if at all possible. 

  • Lafayette parents December 28, 2021 (9:18 am)

    Partying teenagers are on school grounds every weekend night. Sometimes there is vandalism in the playgrounds are on the school walls. Looks like that night some kids found an open window or door. They took the party inside.is it just the high school and middle school‘s that have security cameras? If they could post pictures of the perpetrators maybe parents could help identify them.

  • flimflam December 28, 2021 (10:07 am)

    Probably students…I never used paint but back when I was a teen in the late 80’s I was a jerk and my friends and I engaged in pointless vandalism from time to time without batting an eye. It was truly stupid and in grateful there weren’t security cams then.Hope it gets cleaned up without too much trouble. The paint will be a pain no doubt.

  • Erika Borges December 28, 2021 (12:41 pm)

    WTH is wrong with these entitled punks?  Frankly the uptick in teen vandalism and violence is out of control and this needs to be cracked down on at a state, city and FAMILY level.  Please keep us posted on whether there is some community clean up that is allowed to help repair the damage. 

  • Mrs. A December 28, 2021 (4:59 pm)

    We would love to help out.  Our kiddos don’t go to Lafayette, but we are long-time WS community members.  It would be disheartening to return after break to a damaged school building.Please update the blog with work party sign-ups, donation requests or whatever you need.

  • Kirsten Franklin-Temple December 28, 2021 (6:35 pm)

    UPDATE:- The PTA has been informed that thankfully the damage could have been a lot worse. It’s more of a clean up and no major damage has been identified (yet).- The vandals got into the boiler room, cafeteria and the hallway on the south side of the building. All of the classrooms and the library were locked and they did not enter any of those rooms after an initial assessment.- SPS sent out a cleaning crew so our custodians aren’t stuck with the cleanup by themselves. – No volunteers are needed at this time.- We’re unsure if anything needs to be replaced.We’ll provide additional updates if we learn more details. Thanks again for the support!- Lafayette PTA President 

    • WSB December 28, 2021 (6:54 pm)

      Thank you for the update!

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