They’re tiptoeing around what the vandals are by using mitigating language. It’s journalistic dishonesty. It’s the same kind of shit as headlines about Matt Gaetz “sleeping with a minor” or calling the Jan 6th insurrection a “protest” or “riot”, or headlines that use softer or harsher wording to describe the same actions by people of different races.
They’re technically true. They all make it clear what they’re reporting on. But they do it in a way that mitigates or elevates the implied severity of the crime.