The Justice Department opened a civil rights investigation after vandals broke into and desecrated a Catholic school campus in Long Beach, California, destroying religious statues and causing extensive damage, federal and local officials said.
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon announced in a Monday X post that the department’s Civil Rights Division would investigate what she described as an “awful crime,” tagging Attorney General Pam Bondi.
The @CivilRights will open an investigation into this awful crime. @AGPamBondi https://t.co/MEo6DbUTM5
— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) February 3, 2026
The incident occurred at Holy Innocents Catholic School in Long Beach, where school officials said intruders ransacked the campus overnight on Sunday. The school’s assembly hall, chapel, and classrooms were broken into, with statues smashed, images of the Virgin Mary and other religious figures destroyed, and a photograph of the pope knocked to the floor.
Local authorities said the case is being treated as a burglary while investigators work to identify suspects.
“On Feb. 2, 2026, officers responded to a reported burglary that occurred in the 2500 block of Pacific Avenue,” the Long Beach Police Department said in a statement sent to the Washington Examiner. “The preliminary investigation indicates that unknown suspect(s) broke into a school and stole multiple items. The investigation is ongoing.”
Local police have contacted federal law enforcement, including the FBI, about the incident. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Jesus Osete said he is seeking to connect the local bishop with Dhillon.
Investigators estimated the damage at roughly $100,000, according to a local Fox affiliate. School officials said some of the destroyed items were valued in the tens of thousands of dollars, while others were irreplaceable because of their religious significance and history.
Beyond the destruction of statues and sacred objects, authorities reported defecation on school grounds and partially consumed food and drinks left behind. Those items could allow investigators to conduct DNA testing as the search for suspects continues.
Tony Tripp, the school’s director of advancement, said the intruders appeared to move deliberately through the campus, forcing open closets, pulling out stored items, and tearing equipment from the walls.
“The sound equipment and that sort of thing was ripped out of the wall,” Tripp told a CW affiliate. “Any closet that was there, everything was pulled out.”
Tripp said the most severe damage was inside the chapel.
“What was not to be expected is the sanctuary part,” he said. “We have a large statue of Mary that was pushed down and destroyed. We had the tabernacle, the gold tabernacle where our Lord is kept here; they tried to break that open.”
Cyril Cruz, Holy Innocents’s principal, said the desecration was deeply traumatizing for students, staff, and parishioners.
“There are crucifixes. There are statues of the Blessed Mother. The tabernacle itself was taken and thrown on the floor,” she said. “It’s not just the material things. It’s the heart behind the things.”
BREAKING: Catholic school in Long Beach, CA was desecrated overnight.
⁰Statues smashed. Images of Our Lady destroyed. The tabernacle thrown to the floor.This is one of the worst cases of vandalism the local bishop has ever seen.
Hatred of Christ only destroys hearts.
⁰Pray… pic.twitter.com/AmMzBbhHVH— Lila Rose (@LilaGraceRose) February 3, 2026
The vandalism drew national attention amid heightened scrutiny of crimes targeting religious institutions. In Minnesota, the DOJ is handling a multi-defendant FACE Act indictment surrounding the violent and threatening disruption of worship at Cities Church in St. Paul last month.
Lila Rose, president of the pro-life group Live Action, wrote on X that the destruction represented one of the worst cases of vandalism the local bishop had ever seen.
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Supporters of the school have launched a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for repairs and restoration. As of Tuesday morning, more than $74,000 of the $100,000 goal had been raised, according to the fundraiser, which said multiple perpetrators smashed statues, destroyed religious images, and threw the tabernacle to the floor.
The DOJ did not respond to a request for comment.
