Disgusting. Disgraceful. Disrespectful.
Local police and school officials are seething after vandals
tagged and defaced the Erin Kinkel memorial sign at Gilroy High
School Monday night, and they are hoping the rumor mill will bring
names of suspects to the surface once students return to school
next week.
Disgusting. Disgraceful. Disrespectful.
Local police and school officials are seething after vandals tagged and defaced the Erin Kinkel memorial sign at Gilroy High School Monday night, and they are hoping the rumor mill will bring names of suspects to the surface once students return to school next week.
The sign serves as a reminder to students to buckle up, after the GHS sophomore was killed when she was thrown from the bed of a pickup truck on Redwood Retreat Road in 2004.
“It’s one of those things where I can’t fathom who would do such a thing,” said GHS Athletic Director Jack Daley, who discovered the graffiti when he arrived at school Tuesday morning. “Obviously that sign has a lot of meaning for a lot of people, friends and family of Erin.”
Kinkel’s sunshine smile has welcomed students each morning as they enter the parking lot since the memorial sign was erected in September 2004.
Vandals sprayed orange paint over her face, wrote a vulgar word across the front of the sign and left graffiti tags. Police found additional tags along a storage unit about 30 yards away.
“It’s one thing to paint the side of a building … but to be that callous, it’s just tragic,” Daley said.
Disgusted community members called both police and the Dispatch to report the graffiti. Gilroy resident Mark Zappa called police when he drove past the sign early Monday morning.
“I know the (Kinkels). I did call them and talk to them about it and when they heard they were distraught,” he said.
The Kinkels were unavailable for comment as of press time.
“It’s tragic … They sprayed across her face, it’s very personal,” Zappa said. “They’re already in so much pain. I want something done.”
He may start a reward fund to find out who is responsible for the incident.
Within hours, clean up crews were able to remove most of the paint from the sign, leaving smudges around the face of the bright cheerleader.
“We’re going to do the best we can (to remove the graffiti),” said Jeff Gopp, maintenance and operations manager for the school district, as he looked at the sign shaking his head. “That’s all I can say, we’re going to do what we can … There is no respect for the dead.”
Students are on spring vacation this week and will return to campus Monday. There were no schoolwide events Monday, only a few athletic teams practicing. The campus has been quiet, leaving the school open for vandal attacks, said Principal James Maxwell.
“We have no idea why someone would do something like that,” he said. “It may not have been one of our students.”
Maxwell believes the attack may have been by an outsider who doesn’t understand the true relevance of the sign.
“Sometimes, if it’s one of ours, rumors will fly and we’ll investigate,” he said.
Graffiti was also discovered on several buildings at Brownell Academy Tuesday afternoon. Vandals caused more than $400 in damages – making it a felony offense – when they tagged three buildings with black marker.
Police do not believe the two incidents are related.
Vandalism is not an unusual occurrence during school vacations, police said.
Last summer, every school site suffered some form of destruction, from fire to broken glass and graffiti.
“What was shocking was what was done to that sign,” said Gilroy Police Sgt. John Sheedy. “It was disgusting. Disgraceful. Disrespectful.”
Police are asking anyone with information regarding the vandalism to call 846-0350. To remain anonymous call 846-0330.
