Update: Chattanooga police arrest suspect in firebombing

Law enforcement have arrested a man they think may be responsible for last week’s East Lake fire bombings, according to a statement from Chattanooga police.

The fires at a house and in a vehicle occurred last Thursday in the hours just after a fatal stabbing in the East Lake Courts public housing complex, said Lt. Kim Noorbergen, police spokeswoman.

Montez Menifee, 21, has state charges in connection with the fires, Lt. Noorbergen said. He was booked into the Hamilton County Jail Wednesday night.

In addition to the new charges, Mr. Menifee was booked on violating his state probation, the lieutenant said.

Last Thursday, 22-year-old LaTony Johnson was stabbed in the chest during a fight at 2241 E. 27th St., according to police. Mr. Johnson died during surgery at Erlanger hospital.

Chattanooga police have named Courrie Long, 28, as the suspect in the stabbing.

After the stabbing, a house was firebombed, shots were fired at a car and a house and a car was set on fire, incidents the police think may have been connected to the stabbing.

Chattanooga police, working with Chattanooga Fire Department, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI and the Tennessee Bomb and Arson Agency, helped track the unnamed person in the firebombing, Lt. Noorbergen said.