Vandals Slash Tents

Some parents who are trying to get their children enrolled in Chattanooga's most popular and sought-after school are now victims of some knife-wielding vandals.

Parents are staying in tents that have been up since last Thursday outside the Chattanooga School For The Arts And Sciences, hoping to be at the head of the line for admissions.

As for the vandalism, parent Kerri Stidham said "I think it's childish, we're out here for our kids and we don't care what anyone else does."

Parents say they are not leaving the makeshift "tent city" outside CSAS - if anything, they're more vigilant about what they're doing.

As some were beginning their morning Wednesday they noticed some tents slashed with a knife.

"I mean, it seems like a dumb prank that is really uncalled for when we amongst ourselves have been totally peaceful and not had any problems this year," parent Lindsay Hook said.

Camping chairs left outside are slashed and ruined and several tents are ripped apart.

And in a couple situations the vandals even slashed pillows and air mattresses where people would have been sleeping inside tents.

Parents camp out in shifts, leaving tents up to keep their place in line so that their children can get into the very limited openings coming up next year at CSAS.

In most cases, parents borrowed these tents.

The cuts in the chairs appear to be shaped like the letters Sigma and Chi. It turns out the Sigma Chi faternity house is right next door and some of the parents say they've had trouble with people at the "tent city" during recent late evenings.

Hook said people have been squealing tires, turning up car stereos and even throwing things at the tents.

We tried to ask some of the Sigma Chi members if they knew anything about this, but no one came to the door.

It appears the vandals came from the woods behind the tents at about three or four in the morning.

Stidham said "I heard them walking through the woods, and I heard a couple laughs then they took off when our neighbor got up."

Chattanooga Police sergeant Rick Mincey said officers have taken reports and they take this very seriously. He said there will be more officers patrolling the area as long as the tents are up.

So far though, no one has been charged.