ROCKDALE COUNTY, Ga. — A business owner in Rockdale County says the burning of his business may have something to do with racist vandalism found on his building.
Christopher Thomas, the owner, is a Desert Storm war veteran, a marine and was using his building to train other veterans in the field of telecommunications.
Before the fire Thomas' building housed a business called Cable Broadband & Telecommunications, a Conyers compnay that installed wiring for camera systems, alarm systems and more.
Thomas' own security system won't help investigators figure out who set his building on fire, because all of the equipment was destroyed.
"I should have had an off-site storage for my video, and I'd be able to say who was in the building," Thomas said.
Thomas told Channel 2's Tyisha Fernandes he also had no idea who would have spray painted a racial slur on his building.
Police are investigating nearly a dozen employees who were laid off this year.
Thomas and his pastor Franklin Jones are both war veterans.
They realize how difficult it is to transition from military life to civilian life so they used the building to help disabled veterans.
"So that we could give them an opportunity to get some training, and not have to spend a lot of money," Jones said. "Especially those that are not able to do so."
Thomas says this fire hasn't killed his dream, it's just a set back.
A second fire was set in the parking lot damaging three work vehicles.
WSBTV
