Children Suspected in Little River-Academy Community Center Vandalism

Kids will be kids, but that's no excuse for destroying a place that's special to an entire community and irreplaceable photos.

Our partners at News 10 report that children are suspected of doing just that at the Little River-Academy Community Center last week.

Drake Lawson interviewed Nell Messer, current president of the community center, whose heartbreak shows as she speaks. She's shocked not only by the act itself, but by the mindset behind it.

Lawson's video report shows items thrown all around the center and residue from fire extinguishers that were sprayed and emptied all over the place. There are damages to the appliances in the kitchen, and the drawers were emptied and their contents scattered everywhere.

As if that wasn't awful enough, Messer says priceless pictures of community members, many of them deceased, were also destroyed. These were people who helped build the community center and were active in Little River-Academy community events.

Messer tells Lawson she forgives the children, whose families must be devastated to learn their kids were involved.

Police, however, are not likely to be so forgiving. Bell County Sheriff's Office officers tell News 10 they've interviewed some juvenile people of interest in the case.

Personally, this brings back bad memories of when Moody's Willow Grove Baptist Church was vandalized back in March. Small towns like Moody and Little River-Academy are close-knit communities, making these senseless acts of destruction all the more personal and hurtful.

Messer plans to organize a fundraiser to fix the damage done last week, but I can't imagine how it feels to have lost those photos.

To all the bored kids out there, please think about what you're doing and who you're hurting before pulling off a lame "prank" like this. There are moments now lost to time thanks to this stupid activity.