HOUMA - Two 19-year-olds were arrested after they allegedly broke into an under-construction preschool in Terrebonne Parish, stealing from the building before setting it on fire.

According to the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office, the arson attack happened on Dec. 26, 2022, at Pelican Point Preschool on Enterprise Drive in Houma.

Firefighter with the Bayou Cane Fire Department were working to extinguish the flames at the school when they found evidence that the fire was intentionally set, and investigators with the sheriff's office confirmed the cause of the blaze was arson.

Surveillance video allowed detectives to identify 19-year-old Tecumseh Chiasson and 19-year-old Brooke Lirette as suspects in the arson attack.

On Friday, Jan. 6, 2023, Lirette was taken in for questioning and told deputies Chiasson broke into the preschool through a window before stealing "numerous items" to sell in local pawn shops.

Searches of the pair's vehicle and home confirmed their involvement in the arson, as well as implicated them in other crimes in both Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes, according to the sheriff's office.

Investigators say the crime appears to be random and didn't intentionally target "the type of business or its ownership."

Deputies say Chiasson had already been taken into custody not long after the arson for unrelated crimes, and he was booked into the Terrebonne Parish Jail. He was additionally charged with simple burglary of a business and arson, and he's being held on a $200,000 bond.

Lirette was arrested and booked into the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office on charges of principal to simple burglary and principal to arson. She's being held on a $100,000 bond.

This is an ongoing investigation, and Sheriff Tim Soignet says additional charges are likely. Anyone with additional information is asked to contact the sheriff's office at (985) 876-2500.