A suspected arson attack at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) warehouse in Surprise, Arizona, has prompted an FBI investigation. According to a DHS official, who spoke to Fox News Digital, the suspect “broke a window, ignited a fire, threw a propane tank into the building, and fled.”
The FBI confirmed a broken window at the warehouse and evidence of “minor and limited fire activity.” No suspect has yet been apprehended.
According to the Surprise Police Department, first responders were dispatched to the property after reports of criminal damage. The large warehouse was recently purchased by the DHS and was supposed to be turned into an ICE facility. The decision had caused some tension in the neighborhood.
View this post on Instagram
Surprise councilmember for District 4, Johnny Melton, addressed the issue, saying, “Most of this community supports the president’s immigration policies, however… There is a lot of members of the community who do not want this here and they’re all over the community.”
Melton further added, “I don’t know if this person who vandalized and attempted to do arson even cares about this issue. As far as I know, this could be someone using it as an excuse to cause damage.”
He then explained that if this was one of the protests against ICE as seen in different parts of the U.S. then the protestors should have chosen a peaceful way as “criminal acts…that’s going to hurt their cause. Breaking windows and trying to light fires, that doesn’t help anybody.”
There has also been an attempted arson attack at a DHS office building in Meridian, Idaho and the Arizona incident happened after that. It is not yet clear if there is a pattern to these attacks but authorities are working to determine the cause and identify the suspects.
The Idaho case has shown some progress as according to Meridian Police Chief Tracy Basterrechea, the suspect allegedly stole an ambulance from a bay at St. Luke’s West hospital and drove it through the driveway.
View this post on Instagram
The suspect had also retrieved gas cans. Investigators believe that the person behind this poured an accelerant outside and inside the ambulance but was unable to ignite it before fleeing due to responding officers.
Officials also mentioned that the suspect was known to the community. Basterrechea talked about the same, saying, “There has been a lot of rhetoric surrounding the Department of Homeland Security leasing office space at this location. Comments on social media, such as ‘property damage isn’t violence,’ is absolutely false. This was absolutely an act of violence, and if the suspect had not been interrupted, there is no doubt this building would have been burned, putting the lives of first responders and others at risk.”
With a similar arson attempt reported at the Arizona facility, authorities are awaiting more information as the FBI continues its investigation.
