A man who allegedly barricaded himself inside a California GameStop and set fire to it is now in custody.
At around 10:30am Pacific time this morning, a man allegedly began setting fire to the inventory of a GameStop in the Roseville Galleria Mall in Roseville, CA. Employees said that he entered the store holding a rifle and a tank of kerosene. A fire alarm alerted mall security and the police arrived and evacuated the entire mall. The suspect barricaded himself in the store and did not give himself up at first. After a short standoff, police arrested the suspect identified by GameStop employees and police are now questioning him.
Firefighters are ready to address the fire, which has spread to the adjoining JC Penney and Sears stores. They are being cautious, though, because a full backpack thought to be the suspect’s is still in the store and the firemen are awaiting an “all clear” from explosives experts. Luckily, the fires have been slowed by the emergency sprinklers in the mall. We don’t know which games were set on fire by the suspect.
There is no indication of the suspect’s motives and we may not know for several days. According to eyewitnesses, he is not wearing any shoes, and appears to have an anti-theft device on his sweater.
Update: The suspect is identified as Alexander Piggee and a fire department spokesperson said he was a former employee of a local Walmart. Piggee set fire to the Walmart’s garden section earlier this morning and police were searching for him before he showed up at the GameStop. Piggee’s mother said that she is in “shock” at what her son is accused of doing.
Meanwhile, the fire still rages at the Galleria Mall. Firefighters are breaking the windows on the roof to aid in ventilation.
Source: Fox40 News and KCRA
