Chula Vista police are looking for a group of young men accused of dressing up like creepy clowns and vandalizing several South Bay schools.
Investigators said the group is wanted for vandalizing three campuses in the Sweetwater Union High School District.
On social media, the group calls themselves "SD Killa Clowns."
Their posts show them in full clown costumes, clowning around on Montgomery High School's campus and at multiple other South Bay schools. But for the Chula Vista Police Department, it's no laughing matter.
“That’s messed up. They should respect the schools,” parent Andrea Welch said as she picked up her daughter from an event at Hilltop High School.
A post from Oct. 15, 2019, shows the clowns posing and joking around at Castle Park Middle School in Chula Vista.
Police said the graffiti, which included monikers and the group’s name, was so damaging they're facing a felony vandalism charge.
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NBC 7 reached out to SD Killa Clowns to talk about the vandalism allegations.
An alleged member of the group who calls himself "Shady the Clown" texted NBC 7, writing: "We don't completely condone defacing any school property. Spray painting is not what we do as a group. We just take pictures also leave something behind like a pumpkin and try to bring back the Halloween spirit in S.D."
Meanwhile, students don’t seem to be buying the group's "mission" according to Shady.
“Tell them to stop because it's just wrong. You're just ruining other people's work it’s not helping the school or anything,” said Hilltop High sophomore Julio Ceballos.
Police said the jokesters also vandalized Montgomery High School’s mascot.
And at Hilltop High School, police said the clown crew crashed a custodial golf cart. On the group's Facebook page, this picture was posted: two clowns, one sitting in and the other on top of some type of golf cart.
Sophomore Gabrina Locke worries the damage will cost the students.
“There really is no point because funding and the schools are going to have to fix it and there’s going to be less activities and stuff like that,” she said.
CVPD said investigators have a good idea of who the suspects are and said they have criminal evidence of their involvement in the vandalism.
A spokesperson for the Sweetwater Union High School District told NBC 7 the district is concerned about the safety of the community and is working with police.
No other information was available.
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