(Photo courtesy of ATF New Orleans social media)
- A suspect was taken into custody in Huntsville, Alabama Monday afternoon. The investigation into the arson is ongoing and ATF is asking the public to share any information related to the case.
A suspect has been arrested in connection with the arson of the Senatobia Police Department.
According to a social media post by the Bureau of Tobacco, Alcohol and Firearms Monday afternoon, the suspect was arrested in Huntsville, Alabama. A name or other identifying information of the suspect was not released.
The arrest was made with assistance from the Huntsville Police Department and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations.
The agency stated that the investigation is ongoing and asked the public to share any information related to the case by contacting the ATF at 1-888-ATF-TIPS.
ATF officials said the case stems from a fire that appeared to be intentionally set using an open flame and accelerant to cause damage to the Senatobia Police Department facility. That fire occurred in the early morning hours on Halloween, October 31, and was extinguished by the City of Senatobia Fire Department.
Senatobia’s law enforcement agency is under national scrutiny due to an officer involved shooting that resulted in the death of a 1-year-old child back in June.
In that incident, officers already at the local Walmart chased two suspects to a vehicle while responding to a shoplifting incident. After getting in the vehicle and reversing out of the parking spot, one suspect, the driver of the vehicle, accelerated in the direction of officers, video released by the Attorney General showed. One officer was nearly struck by the vehicle, resulting in three gun shots being discharged into the vehicle, one of which struck the child.
A review of the incident by the Attorney General’s Office determined the use of force by the officer was justified, the AG’s office announced last month. That review occurred following an investigation by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, the AG’s office said in the October 19 statement.
