One man has been arrested after surveillance footage shows him pouring gasoline around an LGBTQ youth centre and lighting it on fire, Phoenix, Ariz. police confirmed.
The video shows the man with a gas canister carelessly emptying out the contents all over the office, before pulling out a lighter.
No one was hurt in the blaze, which was lit on July 12. Phoenix Fire Department officials initially said the fire was an accident, but after retrieving surveillance footage began searching for the suspect, whom they identified as 26-year-old Darren William Beach Jr., the Arizona Republic reported.
Officials at one.n.ten say the suspect attended the youth centre on and off between 2013 and 2016, when he aged out of their programs. The youth centre serves LGBTQ people between the ages of 14 to 24.
“Someone that you’ve provided services to and helped out, you just would not expect to come back to your centre and do this sort of thing,” Executive Director Linda Elliott said in a news conference Wednesday.
She said she does not believe it was a hate crime, but said “obviously this young man has issues and needed help.” She also said he had a history of drug abuse.
“We had no warning signals from him throughout his time with us. There was nothing to let on that he had anything against our organization,” a post on one.n.ten’s Facebook page reads.
“Our youth whom we serve have been worried. Some are shaken. Our staff has been juggling the many issues that surrounded this loss with a great deal of professionalism, but also with heartache and long hours.”
He was apprehended and charged with one count of arson on Friday, one.n.ten said in a statement.
Electronics, food, hygiene and personal products were damaged during the fire, along with some camping equipment.
After the blaze, the organization put out a call for donations, and it was thrilled with the response it got.
“It’s just been an incredible response from the community. From the next day until today, people have just been streaming in here, making donations, bringing supplies, buying things,” Elliott said.
The centre won’t be reopening in the same location. It has moved to a temporary location and officials hope to open a new office in September.
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