Atlanta police officers rushed to Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birth home in Atlanta just after 5:45 p.m. Thursday after reports of vandalism in progress.
Chief Schierbaum says two tourists from Utah saw the woman dousing the plants, porch, and the front door of the home with what smelled like gasoline. The bystanders told officers they intervened when they saw her try to ignite a lighter.
Meanwhile, two off-duty NYPD officers visiting the area were able to detain the woman until APD officers arrived at the scene. A video shared with FOX 5 shows a woman being detained on the ground by officers.
Atlanta Fire Department Battalion Chief Jerry DeBerry says with the fuel down, it could have been just a matter of seconds before the structure caught fire.
The fire department’s HAZMAT team will work to clean up the gasoline spill.
The name of the woman was released early Friday morning. Atlanta Police identified her as 26-year-old Laneisha Shantrice Henderson. She has been charged with arson in the 2nd degree and interfering with government property. She has been booked into Fulton County Jail.
Federal charges could be possible.
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