A suspect has been arrested after an object thrown into a City Hall window Saturday night started a fire.
In a tweet, the Los Angeles Police Department said that officers arrested the suspect in downtown Los Angeles round 6:15 p.m. on Sunday “without incident.”
The suspect, Carlos Tercero-Maradiaga, 36, is accused of using an accelerant to commit arson. The LAPD statement did not provide a motive for the crime but said “there is no indication that this arson is related to any other arson or crime series.”
The fire alarm on the second floor was activated at 8 p.m. Saturday after a suspect threw an object into the office of Chief Legislative Analyst Sharon Tso, said Warren Moore, an LAPD spokesperson.
Firefighters were quickly dispatched, but the blaze had already been extinguished by the building’s automatic sprinkler system when the Los Angeles Fire Department arrived, LAFD spokesperson Margaret Stewart said. No injuries were reported.
The fire damaged a corner of one office, leaving the wall, baseboard, carpet and window frames blackened, according to photos viewed by The Times. Plywood covered a broken window panel.
On the day after the fire, burnt items littered the walkway next to the south lawn adjacent to City Hall: a mostly empty bottle of hand sanitizer, open alcohol prep pad packets, loose papers, a lip balm packet, a receipt. It was unclear if the items were related to the fire.
Fans in City Hall were seen Sunday drying out carpets that had been soaked by the sprinkler system
(Julia Wick / Los Angeles Times)
City Council President Paul Krekorian declined to discuss the arson investigation, referring those questions to the LAPD. However, he said he will demand that Dist. Atty. George Gascón prosecute the crime to the “greatest extent possible.” Krekorian said that steps should be taken so that city employees can be confident that when they come to work, “they don’t have to fear for their lives.”
“I will not tolerate anything less than the absolute most aggressive prosecution of those who would attack government officials,” said Krekorian, pounding his fist on the lectern during a news conference hosted by Mayor Karen Bass. “Because it’s not just an attack on government officials. It is an attack on the people. It is an attack on democracy and it can’t be tolerated.”
Saturday’s fire is only the latest in a series of public safety incidents to occur at City Hall. Two months ago, police arrested an audience member at a council meeting on suspicion of battery on an officer. Police said the suspect had slammed the door to the council chamber in an officer’s face, an account disputed by some other audience members.
Weeks later, a frequent attendee at council meetings was arrested on suspicion of assaulting another audience member, striking him in the face with a bag that had a laptop computer in it. And on Friday, a judge ordered two other defendants, who were arrested last year over their behavior at another chaotic council meeting, to stay 100 yards from council members’ homes and offices for the next 12 months.
Times staff writer Julia Wick contributed to this report.