KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Police in Kissimmee are looking for vandals who destroyed a beloved school statue.
Two guys are seen on surveillance video kicking and destroying Kissimmee Elementary School's bear mascot.
The bear sits at the front of the school reading a book. It's made of concrete, metal and steel.
"Why would people come to destroy it if we're not doing anything?" asked Aidan Medina, a fourth-grader at Kissimmee Elementary. "They just come to destroy our stuff and I don't agree with them doing that."
"I feel like it's a slap in the face because, you know, what they did to it. It's not bothering anybody. It's a cute little bear reading a book," teacher Denise Medina said.
Medina has watched the statue greet families for 13 years. It was a gift from a retiring teacher.
On Oct. 12, police said two men were seen over the school's fence, playing in the PE area, stealing jackets from the lost and found and then heading toward the bear.
School Principal David Noyes has now covered the ruined bear with a tarp.
"It's [the video] dark, but we see them kicking and hitting and then flashing pictures of themselves with the bear after it's been destroyed," he said.
"Some bad guys, that's the term they say -- some bad guys came in and messed up our bear," Medina said.
The suspects are described as white males, one possibly Hispanic with a bun on his head. They appear to be in their late teens or early 20s. The white male was wearing blue pants and a dark colored shirt. The Hispanic male had green or tan shorts and a black shirt. They both attempted to hide their faces with their T-shirts.
Anyone with information on these two suspects is asked to call the Kissimmee Police Department's Property Crimes Unit at 407-846-3333, by email at seeitsayit@kissimmee.org or CRIMELINE at 800-423-TIPS. Police said calls made to Crimeline remain anonymous, and tips that lead to the felony arrest of suspects and/or the recovery of stolen property and drugs are eligible for cash rewards.
If you would like to assist with the bear's restoration, call the school's principal, David Noyes, at 407-935-3640 ext. 33100 or by email at noyesd@osceola.k12.fl.us.?