Vandals target St. Anthony Catholic School in DC; school officials call destruction a hate crime

A Catholic school in Northeast D.C. is raising money to help repair the damage caused when vandals destroyed several concrete structures including a statute of the school's namesake.

WASHINGTON - A Catholic school in Northeast D.C. is raising money to help repair the damage caused when vandals destroyed several concrete structures including a statute of the school's namesake.

St. Anthony Catholic School posted photos online Sunday of the damage they said recently occurred.

St. Anthony Catholic School

The school said three playground benches were pulled from the ground, a concrete windowsill was broken, and the St. Anthony statue was knocked down and damaged. The head of statue is still missing.

The school says this year marks 100 years in D.C.'s Brookland neighborhood. "We are very hurt by the actions of one or few, but we plan to fix all the damage before the first day of school," the school posted on social media.

"Many neighborhood volunteers have put sweat equity into making our outdoor space inviting and welcoming for all," the school posted. "The playgrounds have always remained unlocked so that they are available for the neighborhood. This wasn't a just a loss for our church and school but truly a loss for the community."

A GoFundMe account was created to help raise funds to repair the damage. Over $14,000 was raised as of Monday morning.