Police have suspects in MHS vandalism incident

The Maricopa Police Department has suspects in the vandalism and graffiti incident that closed Maricopa High School on Tuesday, sending about 1,600 students home before classes even began.

Police spokesman Ricardo Alvarado said Wednesday MPD was following up on active suspects in its investigation, but would not say how many suspects or whether any of them were students.

Classes resumed this morning after the graffiti was painted over Tuesday.

MHS Principal June Celaya said everything was “smooth sailing” at the school today.

She said all the graffiti had been covered, the broken windows replaced and all other damages repaired.

The Maricopa Unified School District is joining with the police department, the city of Maricopa and the Maricopa Ministerial Association in a public forum 7 p.m. Wednesday to talk about the graffiti and vandalism that closed the high school.

The meeting, expected to last about an hour, will be in the MUSD governing board room, 44150 Maricopa Casa-Grande Highway.

Dozens of parents and students showed up at the board room last night at 7 p.m. during a Maricopa City Council meeting thinking the public forum was last night instead of tonight.

Deputy District School Superintendent Ember Conley said Tuesday the graffiti was filled with racial innuendo. “Very inappropriate messages were written” on several campus buildings, she said.

Along with graffiti, several windows were broken and students leaving the building said computers were destroyed.

Police are asking anyone with information on the crime to contact Silent Witness at 520-316-6900.