Annandale High School vandalized with hateful graffiti, police investigating

ANNANDALE, Va. (FOX 5 DC) - Racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic graffiti found at Annandale High School Thursday morning prompted administrators to quickly call clean up crews as classes were underway.

A cell phone video shot by a student at the school shows people gathering around a homophobic message. The spray painting was just one of several found on campus Thursday morning.

Annandale High student Mauricio Lopez-Batres, 18, says the hateful graffiti was likely an inside job. He says one message targeted a teacher -- calling her an expletive.

"It's just childish, you know, it's not acceptable...," said Lopez-Batres.

By Thursday afternoon, clean up crews were clearing most of the offensive language from Annandale's campus, but the messages found new life on social media.

Shortly after 6 a.m., a call came in to the Fairfax County Police reporting the hate speech. Police were still in the early stages of their investigation Thursday afternoon.

Annandale High School principal Tim Thomas sent a letter home to parents notifying them about the incident. It says, in part:

"I am especially dismayed and disgusted by the hateful symbols and messages that were discovered this morning spray-painted on the exterior of the school building. These acts in no way represent our school or our community. They are in direct opposition to our values and vision of Respect, Learning, Relationships, Diversity- Value All; Compromise None. We are working closely with law enforcement to identify those responsibe. I would encourage you to engage in conversations with your children about this incident and if anyone has information regarding the perpetrators, please contact Fairfax County Police at 703-691-2131."

The administration is vowing to get to the bottom of this and catch the culprits.