(KTLA) – The lobby of a Los Angeles Police Department station in South L.A. is closed indefinitely after a man walked in with shopping cart lit with flames late Thursday, officials said.
The incident occurred around 11:25 p.m. at the LAPD’s Southwest Station, located in Exposition Park. The man walked into the station with the flaming shopping cart, which resulted in the building's front doors, ceiling and lobby chairs also catching fire, police said.
Los Angeles Fire Department arson units responded to the station. But the fire caused extensive damage to the facility, as seen in images shared by police.
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The inside of the Southwest LAPD station sustained major damage after a man walked in with a flaming shopping cart on April 6, 2023. (LAPD) -
A photo of two LAPD members is damaged in a lobby fire of the Southwest LAPD station on April 6, 2023. (LAPD) -
The inside of the Southwest LAPD station sustained major damage after a man walked in with a flaming shopping cart on April 6, 2023. (LAPD) -
A worker repairs a South Los Angeles LAPD station after it suffers fire damage on April 7, 2023. (KTLA)
The suspect initially ran out of the building in an unknown direction after wheeling the cart into the lobby, according to officials. By Friday afternoon, however, police said in an update that a 30-year-old was arrested in connection with the blaze. He is being held on $250,000 bail, according to the LAPD.
The lobby area, meanwhile, was blocked off Friday morning as a worker assessed the damage caused by the fire, aerial video from Nexstar's KTLA showed. The same day, station officials reported that robbery operations would be “closed indefinitely” because of the incident.
“Community members who would like to meet with an in-person officer or detective may visit any local station,” officials tweeted Friday afternoon.
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