Maddy Parkhurst

Pictured above is some of the graffiti found on the sidewalk in front of GJHS that has been removed by D51 maintenance on Wednesday Oct.10.

Grand Junction High School was hit with vandalization the night of Tuesday, Oct 10. 

An unknown person has taken to spray painting graffiti along the outside of the school in several locations off Fifth Street. 

GJHS principal Jory Sorenson communicated to staff that the Grand Junction Police Department as well as School District 51 is investigating the incident. There was no evidence that the graffiti was linked to a threat of any kind.

“I think some kids were making assumptions that the tagging was a sign or a warning. Or maybe someone started postulating the possibility of a warning…at this point we don’t have any credible evidence that there is a threat,” said GJHS assistant principal Heather O’Brien.

The graffiti was found early Wednesday morning and was addressed immediately. Much of it was covered up before students arrived.

Graffiti was found on the side of the school, on the glass, brick, sidewalk, and a bench. “As soon as we saw the graffiti we called D51 security and the police, and then kids started coming forward saying ‘Hey, I’m seeing stuff on social media,’” said O’Brien. 

Photos and rumors spread across social media quickly throughout the morning and left many students confused and concerned. 

“I think it brought a lot of tension to the school. It brought a lot of unnecessary anxiety,”

said GJHS senior Monica Ortega. 

Paper and rugs used to cover the graffiti by D51 maintenance made GJHS students curious to see what was depicted in red spray paint across the campus. 

While there are no clear answers yet, no immediate danger has been posed and the investigation will continue.

“We want to reassure that we do really thorough investigations and if we had even the slightest suspicions that it wasn’t safe, we would’ve called it today,” said O’Brien.