CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – The playground at a Clinton Township elementary school was destroyed after someone set off fireworks, sparking a fire.
A new surveillance video that was just released shows a group of young men shooting off fireworks, causing a fire outside of Erie Elementary.
The slide was melted in the blaze.
“I’m just shocked by it,” said Jena Campbell. “I don’t know; I just can’t believe that someone would do that to an elementary school playground.”
The playground around the back of Erie Elementary was once a place of joy. Now it’s a site of confusion.
“They wanted to see it, I walked them out there, and they were just really saddened about it, said Chippewa Valley Camp Counselor Claudia Paye.
Paye tried her best to answer some tough questions from the kids attending summer camp at Erie Elementary.
“It was almost more fear,” Paye said. “‘Mrs. Paye, why are there such mean people?’”
Clinton Township police released pictures from surveillance cameras of the young men they say are responsible. Officials say they believe the incident happened around the third or Fourth of July.
“They thought a firework caught it on fire, but sadly, that didn’t happen,” Paye said. “It was so sad to see.”
The damage to the playground ranges from the steps to the bridge to the slide.
While there’s no official dollar amount yet on what the damage might cost, the district told Local 4 that it could be as much as $100,000 to remove and replace the equipment.
The playground is no longer available to five-year-old Logan Campbell, and the new friends he’s made at camp.
“Obviously, they damaged something kids can’t play with for the rest of the summer,” said Jena Campbell. “It affects a lot of people, not just this in the moment. I think it’s sad.”
The clock is ticking as there are only seven weeks to the start of a new school year.
A spokeswoman told Local 4 that they are devastated this happened, and they’re asking anyone who knows anything to give the police a call.
