13-year-old charged with attempted murder after fire engulfs Dollar General, NC cops say
A 13-year-old accused of setting a fire that engulfed a North Carolina dollar store is now charged with attempted murder, officials said.
Dozens of firefighters responded to the blaze, which reportedly started while two workers were inside. Video from WITN shows smoke billowing as crews raced to put out the flames on Thursday, July 14.
The two workers escaped the fire, which was reported at a Dollar General store on Stantonsburg Road in Greenville, roughly 85 miles east of Raleigh. At the time, officials told news outlets no one was hurt, but they believed the fire had been intentional.
Days after the blaze, police said a 13-year-old started it. The teen, who wasn’t identified in a July 18 news release from the Greenville Police Department, is accused of going into the store and lighting “merchandise on fire,” according to a preliminary investigation from local and state officials.
Dollar General and Greenville Fire/Rescue didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ requests for additional information on July 18.
The fire roared through the dollar store at about 6 p.m., making officials worried that a wall could collapse, WNCT reported.
“The commercial structure fire prompted a response from 40 firefighters with Greenville-Fire Rescue and forced road closures as fire crews remained on scene throughout the night to extinguish hot spots,” the police department wrote.
The teen was taken into custody on July 15 and faced two counts of attempted murder. He was taken to the Pitt Regional Juvenile Detention Center, according to police.
This story was originally published July 18, 2022 at 2:46 PM with the headline "13-year-old charged with attempted murder after fire engulfs Dollar General, NC cops say."
