A mob of high school seniors broke into and trashed their New Jersey campus early Thursday, urinating in hallways, smearing Vaseline on doorknobs and flipping desks, police said.
Cops busted 62 Teaneck High School 12th-graders, many of whom were laughing it up as they got pinched for their out-of-control senior prank, authorities said.
“It appears this was a senior prank, but this was a little off the wall,” Teaneck police Sgt. John Garland said.
“I’ve never seen anything like it in my 19 years [on the job] — Magic Marker graffiti all over the place, Vaseline smeared on doorknobs, urinating in the hallways, garbage littered throughout the hallways, desks and chairs flipped over.”
Of the 62 pinched, 38 are juveniles and 24 are legal adults.
“It’s possible some got away, we’re not sure how many, but we did probably get most of them,” Garland said.
The thoughtless punks, who were booked for alleged burglary and criminal mischief, tripped a burglar alarm at 2:11 a.m., officials said.
When officers arrived, they spotted “numerous individuals” fleeing the campus, authorities said.
While some of the young suspects were appropriately afraid as they were collared, others thought it was a big joke.
“It was kind of a mix,” Garland said. “Some were in shock, panic and fear. Others were laughing among themselves, acting like it was no big deal.”
The district rushed a cleanup crew to campus to get the school fixed up by first bell on Thursday, police said.
“It’s not as bad as everybody’s making it seem right now,” a Teaneck HS senior told NJ.com. “They cleaned it up in two hours.”
Teaneck schools superintendent Barbara Pinsak said campus and district officials are cooperating with police.
All the young vandals will be punished, Pinsak vowed.
“The district continues to assess the situation and is considering the consequences it will impose on the students implicated,” she said in a prepared statement.
There were no immediate dollar estimates for damage done to the school.
“ There was no evidence of significant breakage or damage to materials or facilities,” according to Pinsak.
“Students and teachers reported to school as scheduled, and teaching continues as we speak. Despite the circumstances, the Board of Education, the administration and the staff remain committed to ensuring that our students continue to receive a quality education.”
Teaneck HS’s Web page made no mention of Thursday morning’s incident.
The homepage had brief profiles of four students winning science, technology and arts honors. All four of the students profiled are 11th-graders.