Several motorcycles went up in flames at the Atlanta Police Training Academy on Saturday morning, officials said.
Firefighters were called to the facility along Southside Industrial Parkway at about 2:30 a.m. on reports of multiple vehicles on fire inside the parking deck. At the scene, crews observed the various motorcycles and quickly worked to extinguish the flames.
“Incendiary devices” were later found by authorities, a spokeswoman for the fire department said. Photos from the scene appeared to show bottles filled with fluid placed next to vehicles.
Officials have not said if anyone was taken into custody. The incident remains under investigation. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has reached out to the Atlanta Police Department for more information.
Governor Brian Kemp, who called the fire “completely inexcusable,” said his office is working with local and federal law enforcement officers to find those involved.
“This planned destruction of property and attempted use of explosive devices put both lives and community assets in danger,” Kemp said.
Though officials have not said if Saturday’s fires are related to opposition over Atlanta’s public safety training center, the city and the police department have been under the spotlight in recent months.
Construction of the $90 million facility is expected to take another two years and opponents have vowed to continue their protests, demonstrations and pleas to elected officials.
City officials and its nonprofit partner, the Atlanta Police Foundation, see an updated training center as a key component in fighting crime and working to rebuild public safety forces after the pandemic strained resources. Police recruits currently train in a former elementary school, where Saturday’s fires sparked, and firefighters rent shopping mall parking lots to practice for emergencies.
Credit: Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@ajc.com
Credit: Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@ajc.com
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