Police: Arson suspected at Capitol Hill high school, hate crime units investigating



SEATTLE -- Police increased patrols around a Seattle high school Wednesday morning after a fire was set on campus, and suspicious chemicals possibly used to start another were discovered outside a gender-neutral bathroom.

Around 7:30 a.m., officers were called to the Nova High School in the 300 block of 20th Avenue East after receiving a report that someone set fire to the principal's office door, Seattle police said. The fire was extinguished before it spread.

As officers were arriving, school staff reportedly found a chemical sprayed outside a gender-neutral restroom on campus. The chemicals were suspicious, police said, and officers are investigating whether it is the same substance used to ignite the principal's office door.

Detectives are investigating the fire. Hate crime investigators are also reviewing the fire, police said, because the material was sprayed outside a gender-neutral bathroom.

Classes will continue for the day, police said, and officer patrols around the school have increased.

This story is breaking and will be updated as more information becomes available.