Juvenile suspect arrested in Banning High School arson fire
Authorities said a juvenile has been arrested after surveillance video of an arson suspect at Banning High School was released in October.
The fire was intentionally set just after 1 a.m. on October 15 inside the administration building. Fire officials said it caused an estimated $100,000 in damage.
Officials released surveillance video the next day showing the suspect walking through the halls of the administration building.
“Someone called and said `I know who this person is,’ and we went over
there and made the arrest,” police Sgt. Vincent Avila said.
It wasn’t clear that the suspect was arrested because police officers never sent out updated information until recently.
The juvenile isn’t being identified at this time and the arson is still being investigated by Cal Fire. We’ll update our information as we learn more about the charges the teen is facing.
Original Report:
Firefighters were called by an alarm company about 1:10 a.m. Oct. 15 to a report of a fire sensor activation at the campus, located at 100 West Westward Avenue, Cal Fire Riverside spokeswoman April Newman said.
The first arriving unit found smoke showing from the administrative building and firefighters found two piles of unspecified papers burning inside, Newman said.
Investigators determined that papers had been set afire in two rooms of the administration building, triggering the overhead fire-suppression sprinklers. The sprinklers put out the fire but also caused extensive water damage, Newman said.
The blaze was contained about 1:40 a.m.
The video shows a suspect in a striped hooded jacket walking through the administration building before the fire.
