Swastikas Found At Briar Woods High In Ashburn

ASHBURN, VA — Capping off a month during which white supremacy groups have received considerable if not unprecedented media coverage, especially after the well-chronicled violence in Charlottesville, something such as this was bound to happen. Namely, someone used a marker to draw swastikas in a bathroom stall at Briar Woods High School, 22525 Belmont Ridge Road, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office.

The graffiti was discovered around 4 p.m., and police were notified by school system officials, according to Loudoun County Public Schools spokesman Wade Byard, to whom Briar Woods principal Chris O'Rourke referred all questions regarding the incident. (For more local news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts. Also, like us on Facebook, and if you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

"We had a parent (notify) us after school," Byard told Patch Thursday afternoon. "We investigated it immediately. They weren't big, but yep, they were there."

He said there were two images of swastikas, each one about 2 inches high. They were scrubbed over, according to Byard, and officials, with the aid of police, are looking for whoever was responsible.

Briar Woods has a minority enrollment of 39 percent, according to U.S. News & World Report, which ranked it No. 9 in Virginia on its 2017 list of test-proficient schools. Last year's total enrollment was 1,749.

Byard said the matter was addressed with students Thursday during the morning announcements. He added that the message was blunt, that such actions will not be tolerated are are not indicative of the student body.

Image via Loudoun County Sheriff's Office