A suspect has been arrested and charged for two instances of vandalism at a Northeast D.C. Catholic school, authorities say.
Demitrius Hansford, 32, of Northeast D.C., was arrested Tuesday for theft and vandalism at St. Anthony Catholic School, the Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement. The offenses occurred on Wednesday, Aug. 10 and Monday.
During the burglaries, religious items were stolen and a St. Anthony statue, whose head remains missing, was toppled. The vandalism caused thousands of dollars in damage.
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The crimes will not affect the start of the upcoming school year, Principal Michael Thomasian told News4 on Monday.
“We’re just in shock somebody would do this,” he said. “We’ve been in the community for 100 years. Brookland is a wonderful community, and we’ve had vandalism before, but this was an act full of hate.”
Hansford was charged with destruction of property, theft and burglary. Police are investigating the vandalism as possible religious-based hate crimes.
