WASHINGTON — Vandals caused more than $20,000 in damage to a Fairfax County elementary school, police said Thursday.

Fairfax County police said they believe suspects caused both interior and exterior damage to White Oaks Elementary School in Burke, Virginia, during the overnight hours between July 2 and July 3. Police responded to the school on the morning of July 3 after a construction crew found destruction and signs of arson around the property.

The vandals used construction equipment to damage the school’s newly installed playground, the fence around the building and a shed, Fairfax County police spokeswoman Officer Reem Awad. A section inside the newly constructed wing of the school was also damaged, Awad added.

The Fairfax County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the fires ignited inside the building. The estimated cost of damage to the building is more than $20,000, police said.
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The school, which is out of session for the summer, is undergoing a major construction project that will include new teaching areas, a renovated gym and a new parking lot.

Anyone with information about the incident can call police at 703-691-2131 or the Fairfax County Fire Marshal’s Office at 703-246-4874.