Merchants Wharf arson suspect identified

Juneau Police say a 13-year-old girl has been identified as the person who started the latest fire Monday night at the Merchants Wharf building on the downtown waterfront.

Firefighters were dispatched to the scene just after 9:30 p.m. after a report of a fire in a trashcan in the first floor women’s restroom.

Two Juneau Police officers responding to the scene found smoke in the hallway and a smoldering trashcan in the restroom. The wall next to the trashcan was damaged by heat and smoke.

According to a press release from the Juneau Police Department, officers determined that two girls or young women had entered and left the restroom just before an alarm activated. Officers were able to identify and interview the pair.

The name of the 13-year-old Juneau girl was not disclosed by police. She was released into the custody of her mother and she has not yet been charged with crime.

Police say the investigation continues.

The fire on Monday is the sixth reported so far in the Merchants Wharf building. The previous incident happened Saturday evening when a hair salon owner and a restaurant employee dumped a pitcher of water on a trash can fire in the same restroom. The fire was out and the trashcan was taken outside before firefighters arrived, but the restroom was still filled with smoke. Damage was estimated to be minimal.

There were at least four reported other attempts to start fires at the building since Nov. 7.

 

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