Palo Alto police have arrested a 16-year-old boy for setting fire to two classrooms for special education students.
The crime occurred at the Cubberley Community Center, used by the Palo Alto Unified School District.
Police said it appears the fire was set intentionally next to the two classrooms, meaning the boy could face felony arson charges.
“Who would want to burn an educational center? I am surprised,” said Sergei Chumakov of Palo Alto.
Paige Parsons, whose children used to attend classes at Cubberley, is worried about what all this will mean for students there.
“I’m just really, really sad about it. That been a school property with all kinds of nonprofit use for year, and years, and years, it’s just a central part of our community and those rooms are limited, they’re very special and my kids went to school over there … and knowing that there’s less space in order to give those kind of services to the kids that they need, it’s just a shame,” she said.
No one was injured in the fire, but it burned special equipment used by the kids.
On Tuesday, the displaced students were relocated to other classrooms.
The 16-year-old suspect is believed to be the same boy responsible for setting a picnic table on fire at Ohlone Elementary School.
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Source: NBC Bay Area
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