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Three German tourists were reported earlier this month for firing paintball guns in Joshua Tree National Park.

On August 4, a park ranger patrolling a campground in the California park discovered “fresh yellow paintball splatters” on nearby buildings and signs, according to a press release. The rangers found at least 11 signs splattered with the yellow paint.

The summons issued to all three tourists carries a maximum penalty of six months in prison and a $5,000 fine.

The ranger caught the tourists after examining the paint splatters and finding a slingshot “in plain sight” in a nearby vehicle. The tourists admitted to using a paintball gun and slingshots to fire paint the night before.

Park rangers confiscated a paintball gun, paintballs and several slingshots. These are legally considered weapons and are prohibited in national parks, the press release states.

“Defacement or alteration of the NPS landscape, no matter how small, is against the law,” said Jeff Filosa, assistant chief ranger for Joshua Tree National Park. “It harms the natural environment that millions of people come to enjoy while traveling around the world.”

“The park is regularly tasked with removing graffiti of all kinds. This takes time and resources that could be better spent on other priorities.”

Joshua Tree was declared a national park in 1936 and encompasses the Mojave and Colorado deserts. The diverse park covers 300,000 hectares and is home to more than 800 species of plants – including the famous Joshua Tree -, more than 250 species of birds and dozens of different species of reptiles. In addition to its biodiversity, it offers world-famous rock formations and attracts more than 3 million visitors annually.

Earlier this year, two tourists were filmed vandalising Lake Mead National Park in Nevada.

The footage shows the two men climbing reddish-brown rock formations on the Redstone Dune Trail on April 7 and pushing large boulders to the ground. Their actions caused irreparable damage, spokesman John Haynes told local broadcaster KVVU.

“Why on earth would they do this to this beautiful area? It’s one of my favorite places in the park and they’re just destroying it. I don’t understand,” Haynes said.

By spring, park rangers had not yet managed to catch the two men.

“It’s 1.5 million acres,” Haynes said. “We have two large lakes and part of the Colorado River. Given our staffing levels, it’s going to be pretty difficult to be everywhere at once.”