14-Year-Old Admits To Intentionally Starting Fire At Walmart; Charged With Arson

A 14-year-old girl in Georgia has been charged with arson for setting fire to the paper goods aisle of a Walmart store last week. The unidentified teenager admitted to intentionally starting the fire at Peachtree City Walmart Supercenter, police said Wednesday.

Officials responded to a report of the fire at the store at around 7 p.m. on Aug. 24. The fire that caused extensive damage to the roof, and the interior of the store, was eventually put out by around 4 a.m. the following day. No injuries were reported. However, three police officers who were involved in extinguishing the fire were admitted to a hospital for smoke inhalation, Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

"The Peachtree City Fire Department, with assistance from Coweta County, Fayetteville, and Fayette County Fire Departments battled the fire throughout the night until it was extinguished around 4 a.m." the department said in a news release.

The police officials then requested the public to come forward if they had noticed any "suspicious behavior" before the fire broke out. Meanwhile, the investigators determined that the fire was intentionally set.

Based on the eyewitness accounts and video evidence recovered from the store's damaged servers, the teen girl was identified as the suspect. The officers then obtained a search warrant for her home in Peachtree City and arrested her Tuesday for first-degree arson charges, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution report said.

Upon questioning, the girl admitted to starting the fire, but the motive remains unclear, reports said. Meanwhile, the officials said there is no evidence of any organized activity.

"The Peachtree City Police Department would like to applaud the efforts of all city employees, Walmart associates and the citizens of the surrounding area for working together to help solve this case," spokesperson Lt. Christopher Hyatt said in a statement.

The store was closed after the incident and the officials said they do not have a timeline on when it will be reopened.

Last week, a 4-year-old boy and his 2-year-old brother in Alabama were killed in a house fire after the older one accidentally started the blaze while playing with a butane cigarette lighter. The fire broke out while the children were on their own at the house as their mother went to a neighbor's place for a short time.