Police say a destructive attempt to cancel classes at an Iowa school could end with a felony charge for a middle school student.
"No, not a prank. It’s felony level damage that we are probably going to have here," Carroll Police Chief Brad Burke told WHO-TV 13.
Investigators say officers were called to Carroll Middle School just before 3:00 a.m. Monday when they were alerted by a delivery driver who could not gain access to the school.
When officers arrived, they noticed all of the electronic access readers were broken at the school and nearly a dozen of the doors with keyholes were covered with an epoxy.
The school district says they were able to find an alternative way to access the building and begin school on time and repair the card readers. Several surveillance cameras are mounted around school property and Burke says they have a juvenile suspect at this time.
WHO-TV 13 reports police believe he was trying to prevent them from having to go to school. The student could be facing a second-degree criminal mischief charge, which is a Class D Felony.
"It’s disappointing, of course, and the school doesn’t want to see it happen either. The nice thing is we have a pretty good juvenile court system and if they need to get him some help, they definitely can. Of course, he’s going to have to face the consequences of the crime he committed," Burke says.
The damage is expected to cost between $5,000 and $10,000.