Early Sunday morning an alarm was triggered at Anacortes High School. Responding officers discovered that a window had been broken out of the school and that a fire had been set in a trash can inside the building. A temporary bathroom in the north parking lot of the high school had also been set ablaze. The fires were quickly extinguished, although several thousand dollars in damage was done to property.
Anacortes Sgt. D. Floyd orchestrated a search of the area with Anacortes and Swinomish Tribal Police Officers. Their efforts located witnesses who had seen subjects running from the school. Further investigation led to the identification of one of the suspects, a 17-year-old student of the high school. He admitted to his involvement in the incident and was taken in to custody and booked in to Skagit County Juvenile Detention.
During the ensuing investigation three other 15- and 16-year-old AHS students were interviewed and have admitted their involvement in this matter.
School Superintendent Chris Borgen said, "Anacortes School District and our students, staff, parents and community value the positive and productive learning culture and climate at Anacortes High School and in no way condone behaviors that result in destruction of property or that might jeopardizes the safety its students and staff."
All four suspects face possible charges of Burglary, Arson and Malicious Mischief.
The Anacortes Police Department will be taking the lead in the investigation and will be working collaboratively with Anacortes School District administration to conduct a thorough investigation aligned with policy and procedure.