Crime & Safety

No Suspects Yet in Possible SMHS Rivalry Graffiti and Vandalism

Tagging and vandalism that occurred over Independence Day weekend at South Pasadena High School could be the work of SMHS rivals, but local officials say they have no suspects at this point.

Officials from San Marino and South Pasadena do not yet know who was responsible for breaking a small tree and spray painting the South Pasadena High School campus with “SPK” and “South Pasadena Killers” over the July 4th weekend, but the graffiti relates to rivals from .

South Pasadena Killers is a “widely recognized tag for San Marino rivals and an answer to ‘San Marino Killers,’ a phrase South Pasadena extremists adopted years ago,” reported Tiger Newspaper Online on Tuesday.

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“I’m sorry to say that this vandalism, although not common, occurs more than we would like,” South Pasadena Police Chief Joe Payne told Patch. “There has been a long tradition, criminal as it may be, of vandalism between South Pasadena and San Marino High Schools. … I’m assuming from the school officials that they have reason to believe it is because of the rivalry between the two schools.”

D.R. Moreland, San Marino High School Assistant Principal of Activities and Discipline, spoke with the SPHS summer school principal on Tuesday, when the vandalism was discovered.

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“She pretty much told me she thought it was San Marino kids but couldn’t say for sure,” said Moreland, who is familiar with the “South Pasadena Killers” and “San Marino Killers” terms.

Moreland said SMHS was not doing anything on their end to investigate possible suspects.

Payne added that collecting evidence is difficult and the SPHS campus has no surveillance cameras.  

What do you think about rival high schools tagging each other's campuses with graffiti?


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