ATLANTA — The Atlanta Police Department just announced a $200,000 Crime Stoppers reward for information leading to an arrest of people who set fires across parts of Atlanta and Gwinnett County.
Channel 2′s Audrey Washington attended the news conference held at Atlanta police headquarters on Thursday, where investigators showed new scene video.
“If those individuals aren’t caught, they will likely strike again,” said Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
One of the videos shows what appears to be two people walking around the Promise Center on Cameron Madison Alexander Blvd. in northwest Atlanta.
Chief Schierbaum said that arson was just one of several in the metro area, including an arson at a construction site in Gwinnett County.
No one was hurt in the case, but the Atlanta fire chief said the fires continue to put lives in danger.
“These individuals have peoples’ lives in danger,” Schierbaum added.
Schierbaum believes the people responsible for the fires are the same people protesting against the construction of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center site.
Channel 2 Action News has reported on those protests for months.
RELATED STORIES:
- Jury selection underway for trial in Atlanta Public Safety Training Center case
- More than 60 protesters named in RICO indictment connected to Atlanta public safety training center
- Training center protesters claim they set fires to Gwinnett concrete company’s trucks
“Why are we pointing to the group opposed the training center? Because they’ve taken credit for it,” said Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum.
The police chief said he hopes the hefty $200,000 reward will send a message that the police department and other agencies are serious about stopping the fires and brining the people responsible to justice.
“Nearing $10 million worth of damage right in the state that we call home. It is important that citizens know that if those individuals aren’t caught, they will likely strike again and they are impacted by these arsons.”
“That’s not an activity that is sanctioned by the organizers,” Devin Barrington-Ward with the Communities Over Cages ATL organization told Channel 2′s Audrey Washington.
Barrington-Ward said while he opposes the training center, he does not support destruction or violence.
“Activity that doesn’t align with the critical mass of folks who are engaged in the legal right to protest,” added Barrington-Ward.
Washington has reached out to the group against the construction of the training facility about the fires and the new reward announcement.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
IN RELATED NEWS
This browser does not support the video element.