Students, teachers and volunteers from the community are working to clean up the mess after a Catholic school in Long Beach was left vandalized Monday morning.
Classrooms were ransacked, religious symbols destroyed and equipment was stolen at the school at Holy Innocents Catholic Church.
According to the school’s principal, Cyril Cruz, the damage in one room alone that was used to teach Catechism classes is estimated at about $30,000.
Police say it is not clear if it was one person or a group of people who broke into this school.
“Sometimes when people talk about private schools, they equate that with money. And ultimately, the majority of our students are on tuition assistance,” Cruz said. “Like, we are in a not so very good neighborhood, you know. We are a Title I school. We receive Title I funding. Like we are a low economic community here, you know, but their faith is strong.”
Long Beach police say lots of things were stolen as well.
A statue of Mother Mary got its head broken off, food was thrown everywhere, holy books tossed to the ground and cabinets pried open.
Technology was also ripped from the walls and the students’ music instruments were smashed.
The school’s principal says that through the pain, she is so proud of how her students are taking this.
“I don’t know if there is some healing that needs to be done or if there’s some hatred towards like, the religious objects or towards a Catholic church or something like that,” Cruz said. “We don’t know, but our students are just continuing to pray for them so I think that’s so beautiful.”