Senior prank disaster in Bluffton involved 85 students, but 3 were ‘main offenders,’ police say
Over 80 students snuck into May River High School to participate in last month’s senior prank that cost over $20,000 to clean up, according to a newly obtained police report. Harsher punishments were applied for three “main senior prank offenders” who police said took the vandalism to the extreme.
The three seniors, whose actions police described as “more severe than the other students” involved in the May 14 prank, were not allowed to walk at the high school’s graduation on Tuesday, police noted. In lieu of criminal charges, they also paid a “higher-tier” restitution fee than other students to go toward the cost of cleanup and repairs, according to a Bluffton Police Department incident report.
Police say about 85 seniors were caught on surveillance video wreaking havoc in the halls of MRHS after being let in by a custodian near the auxiliary gym. Wet paper was thrown at the ceiling and on the floors, shaving cream was smeared on the walls, there was an inflatable bull outside and two “masked individuals” released a pair of live pigs inside the hallways, the police report says.
The three main offenders caused “serious damage” by spraying a fire extinguisher inside the school and pouring pickle juice into the copying machine, other prank participants reportedly told police. Police noted in the report that the copying machine, worth $5,500, did not appear to be working after the prank. The cleaning and repairs required after the prank cost “just over $20,000,” according to Candace Bruder, a spokesperson for the Beaufort County School District. She said the majority of the expenses came with removing fire extinguisher residue from inside the building.
Students at May River were dismissed early around 11:30 a.m. on May 15 after school officials determined the cleanup required was too extensive to allow classes to continue, according to previous reporting. The police report says the school district hired a third-party company to help clean up the mess.
Bluffton police concluded their investigation into the vandalism May 29, the police report says. The school district’s investigation into the prank was “still being finalized” as of Tuesday, according to Bruder.
MRHS returned to normal operations on May 18, besides one classroom and the gym, which were operational the following day, the district previously said.
Police arrive, detain runaway pigs
One Bluffton police officer arrived at May River in the prank’s aftermath and saw “a fairly large number” of students running from the back of the school, according to the police report.
The officer entered the building and heard “loud squealing” coming from the end of the hallway, rounding the corner to see a pig running in his direction, the report says.
“I grabbed the pig and placed it in a box,” the officer wrote. “I also observed what appeared to be pig feces on the floor.”
After both pigs were contained in boxes, police waited for Beaufort County Animal Services to take custody of the animals, according to the incident report.
Students face disciplinary meetings
The final installment of the police report describes police and MRHS Principal Dr. Karon Webb meeting with the three main offenders and their parents to discuss discipline plans.
“The plan was to not pursue criminal charges on the students, but to punish them administratively and not allow them to walk on graduation day, and pay a higher fine than the other students involved to go toward the cost of cleanup,” the report reads.
The first student told Webb and police he initially expected the prank to involve “midget wrestlers in an inflatable wrestling ring,” the report says. But the prank was “unorganized” and quickly got out of hand, he reportedly told police, admitting to being one of the students who sprayed the fire extinguisher inside the school.
The second student, who also wielded the fire extinguisher, said in his disciplinary meeting he thought it would only spray “harmless foam” whose residue could be swept up “without leaving any damage,” according to the police report.
The second student added that he and the third student took a jar of pickles from the staff refrigerator and both “threw pickles around.” He alleged the third student was responsible for pouring pickle juice in the copier because the jar he was carrying had significantly less juice after he was briefly left alone in the teacher’s lounge.
But the third student denied pouring pickle juice in the copying machine, the report says, although he admitted to throwing pickles, turning over microwaves in the teacher’s lounge, flipping tables and chairs and pouring syrup and soap down a stairway.
All three students and their families agreed to pay the higher fine to avoid criminal charges for vandalism, the report says, and the three students apologized.
