Vandals Damage 3 Buildings at Taft High School

Vandals set early morning fires at Taft High School on Thursday, throwing an incendiary device through one classroom window and torching seven exterior doors in three different school buildings, fire officials said.

There were no injuries.

The fire in the classroom had been extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system before school workers arrived on campus and called authorities. The classroom had an undetermined amount of fire and water damage; the exterior doors were blackened and scorched, said Taft Principal Ron Berz.

Investigators do not have any suspects or witnesses, said Bob Collis of the Los Angeles Fire Department. Berz would not speculate about a motive.

“There’s no way of knowing if it’s connected with Proposition 187,” Berz said, noting the active student opposition to the measure to expel illegal immigrants from California public schools, “or if this is just a person or persons who wanted to light fires.”