Three Roanoke County teenagers accused of throwing paint cans from a hotel roof during an art field trip in New York have been suspended and could be expelled, the county school board's chairman said Tuesday.

The students were arrested early Sunday morning after seven one-gallon paint cans were thrown from the roof of the 20-story Doubletree Metropolitan Hotel, which is across from a police precinct in Manhattan. The projectiles caused more than $1,500 in damage to police vehicles and an officer's personal vehicle, and splashed paint into an officer's eye, authorities said.

Cave Spring High School seniors Tyler Moses Moore Jr. and Sean McGhee, both 18, and Hidden Valley High School student Brittany Goldberg, 17, all were arraigned Sunday on charges stemming from the incident.

The three had not meant to hurt anyone but had been trying to make an artistic statement, according to Moore's lawyer, William Alford III.

The students made a bad decision and will be disciplined, said Mike Stovall, chairman of the Roanoke County School Board. The school board will hold an expulsion hearing before its regular meeting Thursday night.

Board members will speak with the students to gauge "their remorsefulness, why they did this," Stovall said.

"I hate it," Stovall added. "I hate that they've worked so hard to get to the end of their educational career only to make a poor choice and a poor decision that theoretically could affect them, especially the adults, for the rest of their lives."

New York police officer Jose Arenas was sitting in his patrol car about 5 a.m. when a large object hit the roof of his vehicle and paint splashed him through an open window, authorities said.

The officer suffered redness and pain in his eye and facial swelling, according to a complaint filed by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. He was treated and released from the hospital.

Hearing loud crashes, officers ran outside the 17th Precinct and saw paint falling from above. Officers rushed to the hotel roof and apprehended Moore, whose pants were splattered with paint, according to the complaint. The officers saw two others run from the roof and quickly arrested Goldberg and McGhee.

The paint struck the street and sidewalk and caused paint or body damage to two police cars, two police scooters and an officer's personal vehicle, authorities said.

The paint was hurled from the roof, which was a restricted area. Ron Drake, vice president of sales and marketing for the hotel, said it is impossible to see the street from where the paint was thrown because of the way the roof is situated.

"What they didn't realize, I suppose, is the 17th Precinct is across the street," Drake said.

Neither Drake nor a spokesman for the New York Police Department knew how the students obtained the paint cans.

All three students are charged with criminal mischief in the second degree, a felony, and with two misdemeanors: assault in the third degree; and criminal trespass in the second degree. The maximum prison sentence for a conviction on the criminal mischief charge is seven years. A preliminary hearing is set for June 15.

The three teens were among about 35 students participating in the field trip, which was from Thursday through Sunday. Students visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art and attended a Broadway play, said Cave Spring Principal Martha Cobble.

Cobble described Moore and McGhee as gifted artists. Moore's father, Tyler Moore Sr., said his son had enjoyed visiting the museums and had met an artist he admires by chance on the street.

"It was the best time he had in his life, and the worst time," said Tyler Moore Sr.

Cobble said there were 11 chaperones on the trip. She said there was adequate supervision and the teachers were not to blame.

"We will look at what happened and see if there is anything we would do differently" for future field trips, she said.

Cobble said it was the first time in her 14 years that there was a serious disciplinary problem on a field trip. She emphasized that most of the students on the trip did nothing wrong.

She added: "I do not believe there was any alcohol involved."

Michelle Gelernt, a lawyer representing McGhee, declined to comment. Goldberg's lawyer could not be reached for comment.

Hidden Valley Principal David Blevins also declined to comment on the incident.

Tyler Moore Sr. said his son and the other two students already had accepted responsibility for their actions. He said his son had been traumatized by his encounter with the New York legal system.

"He is completely and fully humble and remorseful."

Staff writer Shawna Morrison contributed to this report.