Authorities are scrambling to get to the bottom of a shocking racist attack on a historic black school in Virginia that was in the process of being restored. The Ashburn Colored School in Virginia, which is only about 30 miles outside of Washington, D.C., was found covered in swastikas and “white power” slogans.

The old building was being restored by students to be turned into a museum. A total of $20,000 had been raised for the project, and the group restoring it said they were “heartbroken” by the vandalism. The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office has opened an investigation into the incident, with Sheriff Mike Chapman saying: “The vandalism to the Old Ashburn School is reprehensible and will not be tolerated here in Loudoun County.”

The school opened in 1892 during a time of racial segregation. It would remain open until the 1950s, a few years after the Supreme Court ultimately banned segregated education.

Students from the Loudoun School for the Gifted were restoring the building and wanted to transform it into a museum of education.

The group said on its Facebook page that they would not be deterred from restoring the building, and a flood of new donations came in after reports of the vandalism. The total cost of the project is estimated to be around $100,000.

“We are very sad to report that there was vandalism at the Old School last night. If you have any information about this incident, please contact the Sheriff’s Department,” reads a statement on the group’s Facebook page. “While we are heartbroken about this senseless act, please know that our students, volunteers, and community will work even harder to complete the dream of renovating the Ashburn Colored School.”