High school seniors under criminal investigation after prank injures staff, damages building

UNION, KENTUCKY — Nearly a fifth of a Kentucky high school’s senior class was under criminal investigation due to a senior prank that caused damages to school property.

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75 senior-class students from Ryle High School in Boone County were under investigation for a prank they pulled Tuesday evening, a spokesperson for the county’s sheriff’s office told WCPO.

Students reportedly entered the high school building unlawfully after hours and damaged the building, which created “potentially dangerous and unsafe conditions” for students and staff, the school district wrote in a statement Friday.

“This was NOT a prank,” a district spokesperson stated. “It was trespassing and criminal damaging.”

Maintenance staff were able to fix the issues before the school’s doors opened for operation during the day.

“We are very thankful for the staff and faculty of Ryle High School and our Boone County Schools Maintenance staff; they worked hours before the start of the school day to clean and restore the interior of the school” the district spokesperson continued.

After the crews’ tireless work, the school managed to open on-time Wednesday; however, the prank caused extensive damage to the building with some staff members suffering injuries during the cleanup process.

“As with any incident of significant student misbehavior, we are investigating the matter, following our Code of Conduct, and issuing appropriate consequences to students,” the district spokesperson said. “The students’ parents have been notified and the district is implementing an appropriate plan of disciplinary action.”

The Boone County Sheriff’s Office held a meeting with the school’s administration Thursday.

No charges were filed at the time of reporting.

The school district said it could not discuss individual student consequences due to their policies.

Senior graduation is scheduled to take place Saturday, June 3, at 7 p.m. at Truist Arena.

Ryle High School showed more than 2,000 students enrolled with close to 450 in the senior-class.

The school district did not disclose the exact type of damage that the prank did to the campus structure.

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