A cash reward is being offered to anyone able to identify two individuals suspected of breaking into four area schools – Petal High School, Oak Grove High School, Purvis High School and Columbia Academy.
An email sent from officials with Metro Crime Stoppers said the suspects are possibly linked to burglaries that occurred in July and August at the four schools.
Surveillance photos show one of the suspects is a black male who was wearing a black tank top and tan shorts, while the other suspect is a white male who was wearing a white T-shirt and dark pants.
Gavin Guy, chief of the Petal School Police Department, said members of the high school’s maintenance department saw two individuals matching the suspects’ descriptions in one of the school’s building during the summer break. When the maintenance officials approached the suspects, they fled in their vehicle.
“Of course, we’ve got our own internal investigation going, trying to figure out who it is,” Guy said. “I don’t really think anything was stolen – I think they might have been trying to go through some things that were in there, but I think our maintenance department kind of stopped them in the act.
“The biggest thing is that (our staff) saw something and they said something, and that’s what we ask the community to do. That’s why we have the (anonymous) number (601-300-6336) to text.”
The suspects are believed to be driving a dark SUV.
“We’ve got (pictures of) the same vehicle, the same (suspects) – the works,” said Roy Clingon, deputy chief of the Lamar County School Police Department.
Clingon declined to say what items had been taken from the other schools.
To be eligible for the cash reward, tips must be reported to Metro Crime Stoppers at (601) 582-7867 or
www.p3tips.com.
“We know that young people are concerned about snitching, but it’s not snitching when you speak up to protect your school from vandalism and theft,” Metro Crime Stoppers coordinator Diane James said.
