FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Vandals broke into a house, leaving a massive mess, and the only thing more stunning than the damage may be their age.
The vandals were caught on surveillance video casing the home. They were all girls who looked to be 9 to 12 years of age.
Cellphone video from Sept. 11 captured the aftermath of their handiwork.
The ransacked Fort Lauderdale home serves as a vacation rental.
“Absolute mayhem,” said the man recording the video.
The mayhem unfolded over the course of a few days, which began in early September and continued almost a week.
In the surveillance video the children are seen scoping the house out.
“Jackpot, the house is ours,” said Jordan Grimaldi, owner of Grimaldi & Weiss Management, which manages the property.
At the sight of the itty bitty burglars, Grimaldi said, “Shock. They committed a very adult crime.”
It’s why he called police instead of letting it go.
In the video, the children are seen strategizing at the front door and entering the property via the pool area.
Once they got into the house, they trashed it.
They busted large flat screen TVs, brought in a hose and sprayed it, threw furniture, appliances and other items into the pool, among other damages.
Despite the appearance of police and a clean up of the site, they kids returned on Wednesday.
“They’re back,” said Grimaldi.
“And they knew I was coming. They saw me videoing,” said Chris Johnson, who helps maintain the property.
He chased them as he called 911 and tried to keep them on the property until police showed up, but they got away.
Johnson was about to pass out wanted flyers throughout the neighborhood when he caught them trespassing.
“And the 9-year-old was able to get herself up over and climb over the fence,” he said. “It broke my heart. My daughter is 11 years old.”
Fort Lauderdale Police arrived as well as family members of the children. Now, a juvenile criminal case is pending, as the business continues to operate despite taking a big financial hit delivered by little kids.
“I’m a parent as well,” said Grimaldi, “and I’d be horrified if my kid committed an act like this.”
Johnson said, “To see little princesses doing this type of thing, that type of vandalism, and when you learn that, when you pick that up, these are the type of things that are really harsh.”
For safety reasons, the owner of the Airbnb did not want to reveal the address of the house.
Fort Lauderdale Police said this is part of an ongoing investigation.
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