Audio clip
Bruce Garner
A 13-year-old 21st Century Academy student is facing charges in connection with a small fire set in a bathroom trash can at his school Thursday afternoon, officials said.
The student, who was not identified by authorities because of his age, was charged with aggravated arson and reckless endangerment Friday after an investigation by school officials and Capt. Lesley Morgan of the Chattanooga Fire Department’s fire investigation division.
“The entire school was having an assembly when a small fire was discovered in a trash can in a boys restroom,” fire department spokesman Bruce Garner said.
The incident occurred about 3:30 p.m. Thursday when a fire alarm sounded, Mr. Garner said. Faculty members quickly put the flames out as the school was being evacuated, he said, and no injuries were reported.
Though the teen charged with starting the fire has not admitted to doing so, Capt. Morgan said, officials were able to identify him after interviewing all the teachers and determining that no one else had been allowed out of the assembly room.
“He was the only one in the hallway, and the only one not accounted for,” she said.
In addition, Capt. Morgan said, a custodian saw the student walking away from the bathroom and then putting something in a locker just before the alarm sounded. Officials later found a lighter in his locker, she said.
Investigators are not sure of the teen’s motive, she said, though “according to his guardian, he’d been bullied at school, so it’s possible it’s something related to that.”
A date had not been set for the boy’s appearance in Hamilton County Juvenile Court as of Friday afternoon.
As he awaits that hearing, he remains suspended from school “pending an investigation,” Hamilton County Schools officials said.
FIRE-RELATED CHARGES
A 13-year-old student at 21st Century Academy accused of setting a small fire in a bathroom trash can has been charged with aggravated arson and reckless endangerment. The boy was not taken to the Hamilton County Juvenile Detention Center after being arrested Friday, according to Chattanooga Fire Capt. Lesley Morgan, but he will have to appear before a Juvenile Court judge at a later date.
