Boy charged with arson at LV store

Tuesday, Dec. 17, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

An 11-year-old boy has been charged with setting fire to more than $20,000 worth of department store merchandise allegedly in revenge against store employees who shut off a computer game he'd been playing.

The Las Vegas boy, whose name was not released, is being held in the Clark County Child Detention Center on two counts of first-degree arson.

Fire investigators based the charges on interviews with the boy and employees of the Target store at 278 S. Decatur Blvd. near the Meadows Mall.

Las Vegas firefighters were requested for help at 5:02 p.m. Monday and arrived to find the store evacuated and the flames already put out by employees using portable extinguishers.

Authorities said the boy used a butane lighter earlier that afternoon to set fire to a CD package on display, which burned itself out and caused minimal damage.

Security put the boy under surveillance when he returned to the store about 5 p.m. and watched as he allegedly ignited clothing in the boy's section.

Security detained their suspect until authorities arrived.

"It appears the boy became upset with store employees when they turned off a Nintendo game display (Sunday) while the boy was playing with it," said LVFD spokesman Tim Szymanski.

"He had been playing with it for a long time, not allowing other customers in the store to try the display."

One store employee was treated for smoke inhalation outside the store and released, Szymanski said.

Legal proceedings against the boy are pending.