Vandals Hit School for 4th Weekend

Vandals have struck Hazeltine Avenue Elementary School in Van Nuys on four consecutive weekends, causing police to increase patrols at the school and to ask neighbors and parents to watch for unusual activity at the site.

About $3,500 worth of property, which included videocassette recorders, speaker systems and computers has been stolen in the series of break-ins, school officials said. In addition, about $850 in damage was done to the school buildings, school police said.

Hazeltine Principal Nathan Glickman said four suspects in the latest vandalism, which occurred last weekend, have been identified. But Glickman and school police said they are unsure whether those suspects, who have not been arrested, were responsible for the series of incidents. The suspects are young adults, Glickman said.

“It happens so frequently,” Glickman said of the recent incidents. “They simply destroy the interior of the room, spray-painting it, throwing out the desks or tearing open files. They discharge fire extinguishers in the room. It’s complete vandalism,” he said.

Richard Page, assistant chief of the Los Angeles Unified School District police, said that security officials are “increasing coverage of patrol stops” near the school in response to the vandalism.