A destructive challenge on social media has some teens stealing and destroying property at their schools.
The result is thousands of dollars in damage to schools across the Bay Area, the state and country -- all documented for "likes" on TikTok. The so-called "devious lick" challenge encourages TikTok users to post videos of themselves stealing items and damaging school bathrooms and classrooms.
Dougherty Valley High School in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District is one of the campuses recently damaged as part of the viral challenge. Two boys restrooms at the school are out of service due to vandalism.
The district has sent out notices to parents alerting them that toilets were intentionally clogged and soap dispensers and mirrors were torn from the walls.
Four schools in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District have reported damage, including Diablo Vista Middle School.
"As soon as we had any issues, we said let's connect with our families to be sure that this stops," Superintendent Dr. John Malloy said.
TikTok responded by pulling down videos and redirecting hashtags tied to the destructive challenges. A spokesperson for the social media platform said TikTok does not allow content that promotes criminal activity.
But a lot of damage had already been done prior to TikTok finding the posts and taking down videos. It also appears new challenges and videos are still going up, showing damage to schools across the nation.
"It's wrong and it has to stop," Malloy said. "That's what we're focused on to help our kids make better choices -- so all of our kids can be OK at school."
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The goal for the vandal videos? Views.
One of the posts has already garnered more than 2.5 million views.
"I kind of thought it was a funny trend until it happened at our school and you see the result of it," said Landon Edmond, a student at Dougherty Valley High School.
Investigations are still underway, but San Ramon Valley Unified School District officials said they already identified some of the students involved. Those students will be disciplined, district officials said.
