Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
City park, high school tagged with vandalism
REARDAN—A viral “challenge” that has been circulating via the popular social media app TikTok that urges its followers to vandalize its school grounds or areas has struck the town and school in the last couple weeks.
According to the town Police Department, vandalism began at the town park in late August, when school began. Soap dispensers were ripped out of the park bathroom and toilets were plugged.
The police department set up game cameras around the park bathroom and identified four middle school boys that caused damage to the bathroom. These students were also caught with soap dispensers in-hand at the Sept. 17 football game vs. Asotin, according to the department.
The students were then questioned about their potential involvement Sept. 23 and confessed they committed the vandalism acts due to the TikTok challenge. The students also said five high school students did the challenge first, and they were peer pressured into following suit.
After the police department identified and questioned those five high school boys, they also confessed to acts of vandalism and cited the challenge as motivation. The department decided not to press charges after the nine boys agreed to community service and to pay for the damage done to the park bathroom.
$500 worth of damage was caused to the bathroom.
The department declined to disclose the names of the nine boys, citing their status as minors.
The vandalism also struck the high school, where soap dispensers were ripped out and bathrooms were trashed. Reportedly, some culprits are members of the football team.
An internal investigation is ongoing within the school to determine any potential consequences for perpetrators, so the team has yet to be impacted by any expulsions or suspensions, according to high school staff.
The TikTok challenge, known as “Devious Licks,” has encouraged students nationwide to steal urinals, smash floor tiles and break soap dispensers. Reports of vandalism have emerged in Coeur d’Alene and Western Washington within the Pacific Northwest, and many other areas nationwide.
The police department here issued a notice on its Facebook page notifying town residents of the trend.
“We would like to encourage parents and guardians to have a talk with (their) kiddos and remind them about respecting the property of others,” the department wrote. “If you know of someone committing such acts in our community or have seen such videos, please contact either the Reardan Police Department or notify a trusted adult at school.”
The school hasn’t filed any charges with the police department regarding the vandalism at school and has thus far handled the investigation in-house.
Drew Lawson is the former managing editor of the Davenport Times and a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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