Police and firefighters responded to a state youth home Thursday after an employee called 911 to report vandalism and a disturbance at the home.
Emergency personnel were summoned to the Tennessee State Department of Youth Development juvenile home in Elizabethton around 9 a.m. Thursday.
“Upon arrival I spoke to Rachel Hicks and she stated that she had fired an employee this morning and when the employee was fired, she made an announcement to the children,” Elizabethton Police Department Officer Jon Frazier said. “This caused several of the children to act out. One did damage to her vehicle, one did damage to some cabinets inside of the building and one did damage to the heating/air conditioning units on the outside of the residence.”
The back windshield had been knocked out of Hicks’ 2006 Ford Explorer, Frazier said. “I spoke to (the juvenile) and he stated that he was unhappy because of the dismissal of the employee because he ‘really liked her,’” Frazier said.
The total estimated damage to the vehicle and the filing cabinets is $900.
“Outside of the residence, two heating and air conditioning units were turned over and damaged,” Frazier said. “It is unknown how much damage was actually done to the units, however, both units cost approximately $1,400.”
The Elizabethton Fire Department responded to the home to check the safety of the air conditioning units due to the possibility of leaking fluids, Frazier said.
Frazier said he and EPD Capt. Jason Shaw recommended Hicks report the vandalism to Child Protective Services and also Juvenile Services Director Samantha Prather since the children involved were already in the custody of the state.