SOUTH SALT LAKE, Utah (ABC 4 News) He's just a little boy, but fire investigators say he started a fire inside a South Salt Lake Rite Aid. And investigators said Friday he has confessed.
Security cameras show the boy taking a lighter from the front of the store at 635 East 3300 South on Wednesday, going to the stationary and wrapping paper aisle and starting a fire.
He was recognized because of an alert investigator who watched that surveillance video. Fire Chief Steve Foote said the battalion chief who was also the lead investigator on the case saw the little boy playing in his front yard less than a block away.
His parents brought him in for questioning, and investigators say at that point he confessed.
The child could be charged with aggravated arson, a felony.
The fire caused about $50,000 in damage to the store because a lot of the merchandise was damaged by smoke or water. Luckily everyone evacuated safely. So did customers and workers inside Checker Auto Parts next door.
