FAYETTE COUNTY, Ga. — Police have charged a 14-year-old with arson one week after police say someone intentionally set a fire inside a metro Walmart.
Peachtree City Fire Department Chief Wilbur Harbin said the fire broke out inside the store on Highway 54 just after 7 p.m. last Wednesday. Channel 2 Action News was live as firefighters worked to put out the flames during WSB Tonight.
Police confirm to Channel 2 that they have arrested a 14-year-old girl and charged her with first-degree arson. Her name has not been released.
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Body camera footage showed the tense moments Peachtree City officers spent searching the burning Walmart for customers trapped inside.
“Anybody in here? Everybody out!” the officers can be heard shouting.
A Walmart employee, who did not want to be identified, told Channel 2 that when she saw the fire, she also started yelling for people to get out of the store.
“Just telling them, ‘Come on! Let’s go, we gotta go!’” she said.
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Luckily, no customers were injured. Three officers were hospitalized for smoke inhalation, but have since been released.
It took hours to put out the flames, with firefighters from Peachtree City, Coweta County, Fayetteville and Fayette County finally extinguishing the fire around 4 a.m. Thursday.
The store sustained extensive damage to the interior and the roof.
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