WTOC, Savannah, Georgia, news, weather and sports | Fire guts school gym lobby
Member Center:
A fire destroyed the school gym lobby.
The library window was broken.PEMBROKE, GA (WTOC) - A fire in the lobby of Bryan County High School's gymnasium could be part of a string of overnight crimes in Pembroke. Police say someone broke into the gym lobby and the public library right next door and tried to enter a nearby hunting supply business.
Water and soot cover almost every inch of Bryan County High's gym lobby. Investigators said a burn streak on the wall shows where someone started the fire. Police said all the damage was probably to cover a burglary.
"You can see where the fence had been moved for people to get in and some materials, concession items were taken," said Pembroke police chief Stacy Strickland.
Someone spotted the smoke and flames around 4am Wednesday and Pembroke fire crews arrived in minutes and kept it from getting into the rest of the gym. With the fire contained in the lobby and not into the gym, classes there and in the rest of the school went on today unaffected. But next door, Pembroke's public library stayed closed all day. Police say burglars let themselves in through a smashed window.
"Probably $500 in damage at the library for no more than $20," Strickland stated.
A few blocks away at the Southern Sportsman, Strickland said security cameras caught three suspects trying to smash the front door's bullet proof glass with no luck. Minutes later, Pembroke police arrested three suspects for shoplifting at a gas station near the Southern Sportsman. But police won't assume they have their arsonists just yet.
"It could all be connected, a strong possibility and we're currently investigating. We won't say anything until we have concrete evidence," said Strickland.
Strickland would not speculate if the fire was set as a diversion to the other burglaries or just to cover evidence of the concessions theft. Anyone with information is asked to call Pembroke Police at 912.653.4414.
