Latest Arson News
Texas man who set fire to an Austin synagogue sentenced to 10 years
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas man who set fire to an Austin synagogue in an antisemitic attack two years ago was sentenced on Wednesday to 10 years in prison. Franklin Sechriest, 20, had previously pleaded guilty to arson and a hate crime causing damage to religious property on...
Activist who acknowledged helping flip police car during 2020 protest sentenced to 1 year in prison
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A well-known west Philadelphia activist who acknowledged having helped overturn a police car during 2020 protests following the death of George Floyd has been sentenced to a year in prison. Anthony Smith was sentenced Tuesday following a guilty plea in June to a...
Indiana man gets community corrections for burning down re-creation of George Rogers Clark cabin
JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (AP) — An Indiana man has been sentenced to community corrections for setting a fire that destroyed a re-creation of the log cabin where Revolutionary War figure George Rogers Clark spent his retirement years. A Clark County judge sentenced Jason Fosse of...
Los Angeles freeway closed after arson fire set to fully reopen before Monday morning's rush hour
LOS ANGELES (AP) — An elevated Los Angeles freeway closed for more than a week because of an arson fire is expected to reopen ahead of Monday morning's commute, a day earlier than previously announced and weeks ahead of the original estimate, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Sunday. ...
Investigators found fire and safety hazards on land under I-10 in Los Angeles before arson fire
LOS ANGELES (AP) — State investigators repeatedly identified fire and safety hazards at a leased storage space under an elevated Los Angeles freeway before it burned in an arson fire last weekend, documents show. The blaze — fed by flammable materials stored under the roadway in...
Los Angeles freeway is fully reopened after arson fire, just in time for Monday morning's rush hour
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles drivers returned to a much more normal commute Monday when an elevated stretch of a major freeway reopened well ahead of original estimates following a raging arson fire that shut down the roadway for more than a week. The section of Interstate 10...
California program to lease land under freeways faces scrutiny after major Los Angeles fire
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The area under an elevated Los Angeles freeway that burned last weekend, damaging a section of a key thoroughfare in the car-dependent city, was stacked with flammable materials on lots leased by the state through a little-known program that now is under scrutiny. ...
Fire-damaged Los Angeles freeway repairs will take three to five weeks, California governor says
LOS ANGELES (AP) — It will take at least three weeks to repair a Los Angeles freeway damaged in an arson fire, the California governor said Tuesday, leaving the city already accustomed to soul-crushing traffic without part of a vital artery that serves hundreds of thousands of people daily. ...
Minneapolis police investigating another fire at a mosque
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minneapolis police are investigating another fire at a mosque, and faith leaders want them to look closely at the motive if the fire that destroyed three garages is determined to be arson. The fire at Mercy Mosque happened around midday Wednesday and caused more...
Man who admitted setting fire to several Indiana barns pleads guilty to 3 more arsons
WARSAW, Ind. (AP) — A man who admitted setting several barn fires in a northern Indiana county in 2021 pleaded guilty Thursday to setting three others in a neighboring county. Joseph Hershberger, 43, entered the pleas to three counts of arson in Kosciusko County and was sentenced...
