2011–12 Los Angeles arson attacks: Difference between revisions

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The '''2011–12 Los Angeles arson attacks''' are a series of fires started on December 29, 2011 in Los Angeles. The '''2011 Los Angeles arson spree''' usually refers to the first spree of the total 5 spree nights with at least 55 fires so far in the [[Southern California|southern part]] of California in the United States starting December 30, 2011. The fires are believed to be arson <ref name="LA Times">{{citeweb|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/12/police-brace-for-more-la-arson-fires-on-new-years-eve-night.html|title=Police brace for more L.A. arson fires on New Year's Eve|publisher=[[L.A. Times]]|date=December 31, 2011|accessdate=January 1, 2012}} </ref> and the increase in the number of fires each day may indicate [[copycat crime|copycat incidents]]. It is the worst case of arson reported in the area since the [[1992 Los Angeles riots]]. There has been at least 1 arrest made of a German man with mental illness and is due in court.<ref>http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jbQK-AgkyU2-wGFhQRKwJq6tgXLg?docId=CNG.abe97bb398ff0cdec84e8b248a8ce4ee.8f1</ref> Two others were arrested for fires on Thursday, the first day of the attacks and before the main suspect started.<ref>http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jbQK-AgkyU2-wGFhQRKwJq6tgXLg?docId=CNG.abe97bb398ff0cdec84e8b248a8ce4ee.8f1</ref>
The '''2011–12 Los Angeles arson attacks''' are a series of fires started on December 29, 2011 in Los Angeles. The '''2011 Los Angeles arson spree''' usually refers to the first spree of the total 5 spree nights with at least 55 fires so far in the [[Southern California|southern part]] of California in the United States starting December 30, 2011. The fires are believed to be arson <ref name="LA Times">{{citeweb|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/12/police-brace-for-more-la-arson-fires-on-new-years-eve-night.html|title=Police brace for more L.A. arson fires on New Year's Eve|publisher=[[L.A. Times]]|date=December 31, 2011|accessdate=January 1, 2012}} </ref> and the increase in the number of fires each day may indicate [[copycat crime|copycat incidents]]. It is the worst case of arson reported in the area since the [[1992 Los Angeles riots]]. There has been at least 1 arrest made of a German man with mental illness and is due in court.<ref>http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jbQK-AgkyU2-wGFhQRKwJq6tgXLg?docId=CNG.abe97bb398ff0cdec84e8b248a8ce4ee.8f1</ref> Two others were arrested for fires on Thursday, the first day of the attacks and before the main suspect started.<ref>http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jbQK-AgkyU2-wGFhQRKwJq6tgXLg?docId=CNG.abe97bb398ff0cdec84e8b248a8ce4ee.8f1</ref>


Revision as of 01:14, 4 January 2012

The 2011–12 Los Angeles arson attacks are a series of fires started on December 29, 2011 in Los Angeles. The 2011 Los Angeles arson spree usually refers to the first spree of the total 5 spree nights with at least 55 fires so far in the southern part of California in the United States starting December 30, 2011. The fires are believed to be arson [1] and the increase in the number of fires each day may indicate copycat incidents. It is the worst case of arson reported in the area since the 1992 Los Angeles riots. There has been at least 1 arrest made of a German man with mental illness and is due in court.[2] Two others were arrested for fires on Thursday, the first day of the attacks and before the main suspect started.[3]

Overview

The attacks happened around nighttime and were widespread. The main targets are cars.

There is currently one person of interest. Although, some have been arrested on suspicion, the attacks continue and the attackers have not been caught. There have been no reported injuries. The amount of damage is currently unknown. The 2011 Los Angeles arson sprees are fifty-five fires in the Los Angeles metropolitan area starting December 30, 2011 that as a group are ongoing.

No injuries have been reported, and the total amount of damage is estimated at $350000 up to $2 million.[4] Among the buildings damaged was a home in which singer Jim Morrison once lived.[5] There is currently one person of interest, who has been arrested.[4]

Methodology

The arsonist appears to have targeted mainly cars, many of them parked in apartment building garages or carports. Police reports indicate that flammable materials were used.

Timeline

On the morning of December 29, twenty-one fires were set in the metropolitan area of Los Angeles. All of the initial fires were set within five hours of each other, making authorities suspect arson.[6] By the next day, there were thirty-five fires spanning Los Angeles County. There were the twenty-one in Hollywood and West Hollywood. In addition there were eight in North Hollywood, three in the San Fernando Valley foothills, three in Wilshire, plus one on the Westside and one in Lennox.

By January 2 the number had reached 55,[7] which the Los Angeles Fire Department described as "45 occurred in the Los Angeles area, another nine were in West Hollywood, and one was in Burbank."[4]

Night 1 of the 2011–12 Los Angeles arson attacks

December 29, 2011: The first fires start. Arson is blamed.

Night 2 of the 2011–12 Los Angeles arson attacks

December 30, 2011.

Night 3 of the 2011–12 Los Angeles arson attacks

December 31, 2011: The total fires of the arson spree series reached 39. By this time the number of arrests has reached 1. The estimated damage reaches $350,000.

Night 4 of the 2011–12 Los Angeles arson attacks

January 1, 2012: The total fires of the arson spree series reached 55. By this time the number of arrests has reached 2. The estimated damage reached $2,000,000.

Night 5 of the 2011–12 Los Angeles arson attacks

January 2, 2012

Night 6 of the 2011–12 Los Angeles arson attacks

January 3, 2012: Images of the main suspect getting arrested are released.[8]

Response

No information was released about the perpetrator until December 31, when authorities reported the suspect was a "male driving a white-and-tan mid-1990s Lexus ES300".

At a press conference on January 1, LAFD chief Pat Butler said, "We are not going to rest. We are going to work tirelessly".[9]

The captain of the LAFD, Jamie Moore, said, "It will be interesting to see what the motive is behind this. There are a lot of reasons why people start fires. Some people do it out of spite or malice. Others do it out of recognition. Others do it as a crime cover-up. Some do it for financial gain, and there are always those who have a psychological problem where they get a form of self-gratification from it."[10]

Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said on December 30, "We are dead serious about trying to apprehend the individual or individuals who are responsible for this. We want to get these SOBs before they hurt somebody. One of these fires was just less than three blocks from my own home."[10]

Internet

On twitter there has been mixed reaction to the various arson attacks. Many react to the person of interest being caught.http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/los-angeles-arson-attacks-suspect-arrest-twitter-reaction-277253

Copycat incidents

In Peru, Illinois a massive fire destroyed a clock factory that according to police was deliberate.http://www.charter.net/news/read.php?ps=1011&rip_id=%3CD9S0BCO81%40news.ap.org%3E&news_id=17322282&src=most_popular_viewed In may have been influenced due to the timing.


Arrest of Harry Burkhart

On January 2, 2012 Los Angeles authorities arrested a man near a drugstore at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue. He was driving a blue minivan with Canadian license plates and was transporting fire-starting materials.[11] The man, Harry Burkhart, is a German native who may be in a dispute with U.S. immigration.[4][12] The U.S. State Department said that he was identified as a suspect because his mother Dorothee Burkhart was the subject of a provisional arrest request by Germany, and federal authorities learned about Harry Burkhart while working on the mother's case and recognized him in security video of the arson suspect.[13]

Harry Burkhart was taken into custody after a reserve Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy spotted him driving a van similar to one being sought. However, the real break in the investigation came when U.S. marshalls recognized Burkhart from surveillance videotape taken near several of the fires.[14].

Harry Burkhart is a German national who carried travel papers from Chechnya but has lived in Southern California.[15]

The German embassy in Ottawa says Dorothee Burkhart has been wanted by authorities in Frankfurt and Dusseldorf since 2005. The Burkharts both filed unsuccessful refugee claims in Canada.[16] Dorothee Burkhart was arrested by U.S. authorities the day before the fires began. The German government complaint says that Dorothee Burkhart was charged with 19 counts of fraud in Frankfurt, including failing to pay for a 2004 breast-augmentation surgery and pilfering security deposits from renters. Authorities said Harry Burkhart watched as his mother was arrested, and a day later he exploded in an expletive-laced rant against the U.S. at her court hearing.[17][18]

References

  1. ^ "Police brace for more L.A. arson fires on New Year's Eve". L.A. Times. December 31, 2011. Retrieved January 1, 2012.
  2. ^ http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jbQK-AgkyU2-wGFhQRKwJq6tgXLg?docId=CNG.abe97bb398ff0cdec84e8b248a8ce4ee.8f1
  3. ^ http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jbQK-AgkyU2-wGFhQRKwJq6tgXLg?docId=CNG.abe97bb398ff0cdec84e8b248a8ce4ee.8f1
  4. ^ a b c d Blankstein, Andrew; Winton, Richard; Bloomekatz, Ari (January 2, 2012). "Suspect Arrested in String of Fires". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
  5. ^ Malkoff, Dave (January 1, 2012). "Arsonist Lights Jim Morrison's House on Fire". New England Cable News . Retrieved January 1, 2012.
  6. ^ "35 Southern California Fires Rock Cities". CNN. December 31, 2011. Retrieved January 1, 2012.
  7. ^ Quinones, Sam (January 2, 2012). "L.A. Arson Fires Now Top 55; 'Person of Interest' Held". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
  8. ^ http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://a57.foxnews.com/video.foxnews.com/thumbnails/010212/640/360/640/360/010212_fr_arson_640.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/01/02/la-authorities-respond-to-as-many-as-eight-new-fires-amid-arson-spree/&usg=__l8XyF7FTpW8NwpY2NyGdPow5ThQ=&h=360&w=640&sz=22&hl=en&start=1&zoom=1&tbnid=UHLuli9Ke7HrHM:&tbnh=77&tbnw=137&ei=lJkDT7PrBc2ftweZwOWLBw&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dlos%2Bangeles%2Barson%2Bmugshot%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26gbv%3D2%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1
  9. ^ "LA Detectives Release Video Featuring Person of Interest After Latest Wave of Car Arson Fires". The Washington Post. Associated Press. January 1, 2012. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
  10. ^ a b Nagourney, Adam (January 1, 2012). "Cars Set on Fire, and Los Angeles Set on Edge". The New York Times. Retrieved January 1, 2012.
  11. ^ Blankstein, Andrew; Winton, Richard; Bloomekatz, Ari (January 2, 2012). "Fire Starting Materials Found in Van of Person of Interest Sources Say". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
  12. ^ Blankstein, Andrew; Winton, Richard; Bloomekatz, Ari (January 2, 2012). "Police Examine Immigration Link to Case". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
  13. ^ US officials alerted LA authorities in arson case
  14. ^ Mother of Los Angeles arson suspect arrested in German case
  15. ^ Mother of L.A. arson suspect Harry Burkhart says he's mentally ill
  16. ^ L.A. arson suspect and mother lived in Vancouver, filed refugee claim
  17. ^ Mother of L.A. arson suspect Harry Burkhart says he's mentally ill
  18. ^ LA arson suspect cursed US days before fires
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