A 10-year-old boy is in police custody after he allegedly set a Wisconsin Walmart on fire, causing millions of dollars in damage.
Shocking footage showed the flames rapidly growing inside the store located in Franklin – about 20 minutes outside of Milwaukee – on Monday.
First responders arrived on scene shortly before 9pm to discover heavy plumes of smoke rising from the building.
The building’s automatic sprinkler system went off and assisted in controlling the blaze, according to the Franklin Fire Department.
This allowed for the safe evacuation of all store patrons and employees, and no injuries were reported.
Investigators have not revealed how the fire started, but police took a 10-year-old boy from Milwaukee into custody for questioning.
‘Arson charges will be referred to the Milwaukee County Juvenile Justice Center as a result of the investigation,’ the Franklin Police Department said.
While the building is still being assessed, officials believe millions of dollars in damage was done.
A 10-year-old boy is in police custody after he allegedly set a Wisconsin Walmart on fire
First responders arrived on scene shortly before 9pm to discover heavy plumes of smoke rising from the building
‘Preliminary damage estimates are still being evaluated, however, extensive smoke damage was noted throughout the structure resulting in the loss of merchandise estimated to be several million dollars,’ the Franklin Fire Department said.
The store’s Facebook page posted, ‘Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances we will be closed until further notice.’
A Walmart spokesperson told DailyMail.com they are directing customers with pharmacy needs to their 27th Street Store location in Milwaukee.
April King, a merchandising contractor at the store, told Fox 6 she believes the fire was in the party supplies aisle.
‘That was like, the party aisle. What’s going to set fire there?’ I was shocked, honestly. Because it’s like, you know, I’ve never seen a random fire like that in a place you wouldn’t associate with a fire,’ King said.
‘Customers are impacted and employees at Walmart are impacted because they can’t work. So yeah, it is a huge impact to the community, definitely.’
She was shocked to learn such a young boy had been taken into custody for starting the fire.
‘I don’t understand how a 10-year-old could even, one, think to do that and then how did he get the equipment to do that,’ King said.
Shocking footage showed the flames rapidly growing inside the store located in Franklin
Local Walmart patrons were shocked and saddened to learn about the fire.
‘For me, It’s concerning how that fire got that large,’ customer Anthony Tischer told TMJ4.
Tischer’s fiancée, Kassandra Helsick, said she was worried the fire could be part of a greater trend going on across the country.
‘What are these kids getting into,’ Helsick asked. ‘It causes panic. Nobody needs that.’
