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Police: Teenager jailed for trying to set fire to high school

Anacortes, Wash. — An Anacortes teenager is in jail, accused of trying to set his high school on fire, and police said it wasn’t his first try.

Firefighters responded to an alarm at Anacortes High School early Sunday morning and found someone had smashed a window then set a garbage can on fire in the building.  A portable restroom near the track was also burned.

Firefighters quickly extinguished both fires.  Police arrested four teenage boys.  Some of them were seen on surveillance video running from the school, according to police.

“We're very, very disappointed and very concerned about that," said Superintendent Chris Borgen.

It’s the second time in a month someone has set school equipment on fire.  The school district spent thousands of dollars replacing the athletic track after someone burned hurdles and a canopy.

"It's just crazy because you don't realize someone could do that to your school and you could lose potentially everything that's in it," said junior Stacie Loop.

Police said they have evidence a 17-year–old boy arrested in the Sunday group is also responsible for the fire set last month.  Detectives said he told them he had a beef with the school and is no longer a student.

"Any time, especially with this beautiful weather we're having, we have someone out starting fires it presents a danger to the public, so I was really excited with have this subject in custody," said Anacortes Police Chief Bonnie Bowers.

Police are looking at older arson cases to see if the suspect is connected to any other fires.