Tourists with paintball guns vandalized Joshua Tree, CA rangers say. Now they’re cited
Three visitors were cited after they were accused of vandalizing Joshua Tree National Park using paintball guns, California rangers say.
As a park ranger was patrolling near the area of Jumbo Rocks Campground on Aug. 4, they spotted “fresh yellow paintball splatter on structures and signs,” park officials said in an Aug. 8 news release.
Some of the vandalized items included “signs, bathrooms and dumpsters,” rangers said.
As law enforcement rangers scoured the campground, they noticed “a slingshot in plain view inside a vehicle,” officials said.
When questioned, the German visitors told rangers they fired paintballs using “a compressed paintball gun, known as a paintball marker, and slingshots the night before.”
Rangers said they found multiple pieces of evidence, including three slingshots, a paintball gun and paintballs, while searching the car.
As paintball markers and slingshots are considered weapons, they are prohibited in national parks, rangers said.
At least 11 roadway signs from Jumbo Rocks campground to the Maze Trailhead were also vandalized with paintballs, rangers said.
Each visitor was given “a federal violation notice,” accusing them of “vandalizing, defacing, or destroying property,” rangers said.
Such violations are subject to a potential $5,000 fee and/or no more than six months in prison, according to rangers.
“Defacing or altering the NPS landscape, no matter how small, is against the law,” Chief Ranger Jeff Filosa said in the release. “It diminishes the natural environment that millions of people travel the world to enjoy.”
Rangers said maintenance staff is cleaning the vandalized areas in the park.
While park staff regularly remove graffiti, Filosa said it takes time and resources away “that could be better dedicated to other priorities.”
This story was originally published August 8, 2024 at 4:00 PM with the headline "Tourists with paintball guns vandalized Joshua Tree, CA rangers say. Now they’re cited."
