‘Super mad’ 10-year-old boy allegedly starts garage fires

Published 10:30 am Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Two garages were damaged after a 10-year-old boy set them on fire on Monday afternoon.

Officers responded to the 700 block of 10th Avenue Southwest around 12:45 p.m. to a report of a possible garage fire, according to Police Chief Brian Krueger. Officers found the garage, along with a second garage several doors down, on fire, and were able to subdue flames with fire extinguishers and garden hoses before the Austin Fire Department arrived and took over.

The victim of the first garage told officers the boy knocked on the door to the home and told the victim their garage was on fire.

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Officers found the boy at the 900 block of 11th Avenue Southwest and took him into custody. The boy admitted to starting the fires because he was “super mad,” according to the report.

He told officers he used gasoline and a grill lighter he found to start the fires. He was transported to Many Rivers Juvenile Detention Center in Rochester and held for court.

A stool or chair were in the first garage was used to start the fire, and a garbage can was used to start the second fire, according to the report.

Both garages sustained damage, and the second home’s 96-gallon garbage can was “fully engulfed and melted down to the ground,” and caught the north exterior wall on fire, according to the report.