SAN CLEMENTE — For two weeks now, Jeanna Bassett has been in shock and mourning.

“It’s been like a death in the family,” the longtime Concordia Elementary School art teacher said on Tuesday, Dec. 11.

On Nov. 26, Bassett was summoned to the school library. More than 100,000 pieces from her 125 built-out Lego Star Wars kits lay strewn throughout the room. Some larger pieces remained snapped together but mainly the Legos lay separated.

Some had either been smashed or thrown so hard that parts of their hard plastic had shattered.

“No, the Death Star! No, the X-Wing! No, the Millennium Falcon! No, the TIE Fighters! Oh no, the Sandcrawler!” Bassett said. “I just kept saying, ‘No, no, no!’ ! I was in so much shock.”

Along with the Lego sets — many of which had been built more than 30 years ago by Coby Bassett, the teacher’s youngest son — books were strewn everywhere and a computer had been smashed.

School officials called the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and deputies set up a crime scene to look for evidence.

“The deputy had tears in his eyes seeing the broken pieces,” Bassett said. “He was a grown man and he knew the destruction he was seeing.”

So far, Bassett said, deputies have not determined who vandalized the school library and another nearby room. And they have no motive.

“To whoever did it, I want to say, ‘Did you throw it across the room? Did you kick it like a football? Or, did you take books and throw it at it?’” Bassett said. “I kinda want to get into their minds. Did they do it forcefully with anger or were they just messing off? If any good comes from this, maybe they’ll get help so they don’t end up breaking into someone’s house and do (something worse).”

Picking up the pieces

After deputies left, all Bassett could think about, she said, was that she had to clean up the library so the students could use it. With tears in her eyes, the 72-year-old started scooping up Legos by the handful. They were pieces she and her sons, who also attended Concordia, had patiently pieced together.

They had created so many sets that her house was packed with Lego sculptures. So in 1998, Bassett decided to donate many of the sets to the school’s library as a way to inspire students who also loved Legos. Past school principals had toured visitors through the library just to see the creations.

Memories tumbled through her mind as she picked up the multicolored shattered pieces. Four students came in to help. Each time they picked up a piece they asked her where she wanted it to go. But the mass was too much to organize.

“I couldn’t do it anymore,” she said. “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.”

Ties to Concordia

Assembling Legos is all about the details. So is Bassett.

“I’m a numbers person,” she said.

On Tuesday, she talked about the school’s history and how on Nov. 17, 1955, she was among the first to attend Concordia when it opened. She began teaching art in 1975 and has been a teacher at the school for 42 years. She been employed by the Capistrano Unified School District for 39 years.

“I’ve celebrated the 20th, the 30th, the 40th, the 50th and the 60th anniversary,” she said. “Now we’re in our 63rd year.”

Ten years ago, she began holding a Lego building club at lunch with students. Four years ago, she began awarding students with their own sets once they finished their projects. Last year, five students got to take home what they created.

The community reacts

It was partially Bassett’s dedication to the school and partially public outrage on social media that has prompted parents and students to rally around her. Ivan and Amanda Huntington are among those. Shortly after the Thanksgiving break, their three children told them what had happened.

“They told us the art teacher is really upset and was crying,” Amanda Huntington said. “I went in and talked to the principal to see what we as a community could do. I also reached out to Lego, Legoland and anyone in customer service.”

Her husband, Ivan, posted a note about what happened on social media. As of Tuesday, there were more than 530 comments.

Though Amanda Huntington didn’t receive a response from Lego, Bassett on Tuesday looked through a package she received from the company’s customer service department.

In it was a note expressing sorrow over the destruction of the Lego sets and a poster of a Lego movie that they suggested could fill the void. While parents hoped Lego might send some of their engineers to recreate the kits, Bassett said that didn’t appear likely.

Instead, parents and students are signing up in groups to organize the broken Legos and then, possibly, to rebuild some of the sets.

They’ve also made contact with Taylor Harkins, who might be able to help. He works for Goodwill in Santa Ana, where he is known as the “Director of Legoland,” assembling discarded Legos.

“I can’t believe how many families of Concordia have rallied and want to come together on this,” Bassett said. “I appreciate it but it will never be the same. I know the stories behind each kit.”