Costly — and stinky — senior prank involving eggs and meat ends in charges, NC cops say

An elaborate senior prank that included putting meat and eggs in the school’s air vents got a dozen teens in trouble with the law in Lincoln County.

The prank, which was discovered Tuesday, caused $5,000 in vandalism at East Lincoln High, including damage to buses, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. East Lincoln High is just over 20 miles northwest of Charlotte, in Denver, NC.

“School officials reported buses and some interior areas of the school building had been covered with some type (of) sticky substance and glitter,” the release said. “They also advised some type (of) meat and eggs had been placed in the HVAC system on the roof of the school.”

Investigators told McClatchy News the eggs and meat were put in the ventilation system to generate a bad odor — and it worked.

The department released a photo taken inside one of the buses, showing students who used seats would become adhered to the “sticky substance.”

Senior pranks are a high school tradition across the country but can result in fines and even arrests in cases where damage, school disruption and injuries are reported.

Lincoln County schools has seen over-the-top pranks in the past, including a 2009 incident at North Lincoln High School involving spray paint on windows, glue in door locks and plastic wrapped around buses, the Lincoln Times-News reported. The damage was estimated at $10,000 to $12,000, the site said.

School security video was used to identify the East Lincoln High students who participated in the latest prank, and the 12 “admitted to their involvement” during meetings with authorities, the sheriff’s office said. Their parents attended the meetings, officials said.

Eight of the students are age 18, while the four others are juveniles, officials said.

Warrants were issued for the eight older students, while “juvenile petitions” were filed against the four younger teens, officials said. All face misdemeanor charges including: “trespassing, breaking and entering, injury to real property and injury to personal property,” officials said.

East Lincoln High has just over 900 students in grades 9 through 12, and has a graduation rate of about 91%, according to Public School Review.

This story was originally published May 20, 2021 at 4:29 PM with the headline "Costly — and stinky — senior prank involving eggs and meat ends in charges, NC cops say."