Late-Night Joyrides Cause $5K Damage At Reston's NOVA Wild Zoo

RESTON, VA — Fairfax County Police are looking for four young males who broke into NOVA Wild Zoo and Wildlife Park Tuesday night, causing thousands of dollars of damage to the park’s service vehicles and several animal exhibits.

“Thankfully, none of the animals are harmed, and none of the people, that we know of, were harmed either,” said Elizabeth Kruckow, the park's director of animal welfare.“It could have been a very serious situation if they did encounter the wrong animal.”

While the suspects were on the property, they gained access to the keys for all of the park’s utility vehicles, which they rode around the 30-acre property.

“Every single utility vehicle that we had basically had some sort of damage, which is where most of the cost associated is,” Kruckow said. “They did hit our capybara exhibit and there's also minor damage to the park itself. They tore up grass going on a joy ride throughout the park itself.

Kruckow estimated that NOVA Wild will have to spend more than $5,000 to fix everything, which is a lot for a nonprofit to have to spend.

Although authorities don’t know when and how the four juvenile suspects exactly entered the park, an employee who was working late noticed that they were on the grounds around 10:20 p.m. and called police, according to Kruckow.

Officers arrived around 11 p.m., but the suspects were gone by then. However, they were captured on the park’s surveillance cameras. The videos were posted on NOVA Wild’s Instagram account and Facebook page.

“Before this happened, we had talks about increasing our security monitoring," she aid. "We actually had a consultation and we're gonna be adding in some different security measures. We did have somebody here and they were caught on camera. So, we feel like we’re doing a pretty good job, but unfortunately, it is a lot of acreage to cover.”

American Humane Certified and accredited by the Zoological Association of America, NOVA Wild Zoo and Wildlife Park is located at 1228 Hunter Mill Road in Reston.