Vandals smash up teacher’s LEGO collection

In an upsetting act of vandalism, a LEGO Star Wars collection belonging to Elementary School art teacher Jeanna Bassett was smashed up.

An art teacher had her LEGO set collection smashed up by vandals, who broke into the school library to carry out the crime. She explained to local news what happened and how she reacted. “No, the Death Star! No, the X-Wing! No, the Millennium Falcon! No, the TIE Fighters! Oh no, the Sandcrawler,” Jeanna Bassett told the OC Register. “I just kept saying, ‘No, no, no,’ I was in so much shock.”

The library had been broken into, with almost every LEGO set dismantled. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department came to visit the scene of crime. “The deputy had tears in his eyes seeing the broken pieces,” the teacher said. “He was a grown man and he knew the destruction he was seeing.” They do not yet have a suspect.

Bassett’s LEGO collection was at the school to inspire students, as she had run out of space to display all of her sets at home. The 72 year old had help from students in cleaning up the mess, which has left staff at the school disheartened. “I was exhausted and feeling sick. I just kept thinking about why someone would do this. I couldn’t believe it — most likely it was kids,” she said.

After hearing about the incident, parents and students are organising in groups to help sort and then rebuild the sets.

This follows a crime that occurred earlier this year, when a YouTuber had some of his collection destroyed and his builds vandalised.