‘Total Shock’
It’s a chilling video.
A young man walks up to a building in Phoenix carrying a red gas can. The surveillance video then switches to inside the building, showing him entering what appears to be a back room. He casually pours gasoline throughout the room, walks down the hall dousing it in gas, then exits. Seconds later the room fills with flames, then smoke.
The youth center, One-n-Ten, serves about 1000 LGBTQ people a year.
Officials originally believed the July 12 fire was the result of a “combination of improperly stored rags and batteries mixed with a hot, ventilated room,†Phoenix Fire Department captain Rob McDade told the Arizona Republic, according to The Washington Post.
That was until the surveillance video was uncovered.
Sadly, the suspect is known to the organization. He used their services for a few years on and off, until he aged out. According to reports the suspect is Darren William Beach Jr., now 26.
“This news hurts,†executive director Linda Elliott said in a news conference Wednesday. “Obviously this young man has issues and needs help.â€
“Someone that you’ve provided services to and helped out, you just would not expect to come back to your center and do this sort of thing,†Elliot said, adding that it was a “total shock.â€
She said she does not have any reason to believe the arson was a hate crime. But she said she worries the news will be traumatizing for the youth who use the program’s services.
“Many of them knew this young man, and this is their safe place,†Elliot said. “Someone comes and burns it down … that’s traumatic.â€
One-n-Ten is moving to a new location. AZ Central reports they “lost electronic equipment, food, hygiene and personal products, and camping equipment in the fire, and officials are waiting to find out what expenses insurance will cover.”
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Image: Screenshot via The Washington Post