The three boys, aged 16, 18 and 19, claimed they were trying to warm themselves up, but CCTV footage suggested a more straightforward case of arson. Photo credit: Městská policie Brno.
Brno, Nov 12 (BD) – At just after 2:30am on Sunday morning, police surveillance cameras in the pedestrian underpass beneath the train station caught three teenage boys lighting a handkerchief and throwing it into a rubbish bin. The fire quickly engulfed the plastic bin, before a nearby police patrol came to extinguish the fire. Despite having split up, the boys were intercepted at various points by the entrance of the underpass, before they could take the night bus.
According to police spokesman Pavel Svab: “When asked by police officers if they knew each other, two of the boys replied “We’re in Brno, we know everyone here,” adding that they had met the third boy at a party that night.” The third boy, the 18-year-old, was intercepted at the trolleybus loop on Benesova, carrying a lighter. He admitted throwing the handkerchief into the bin, but said he had done it to get warm on a cold night, before the fire got out of control. However, the video shows the boys walking away from the scene very soon after starting the fire.“The police officers informed the owner and, as the damage is unlikely to exceed CZK 5,000, they transferred the suspected property offence to the administrative authority,” added Svab.
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