Crime & Safety

Three Arrested for Attempted Arson

There's no immediate connection to the string of fires that have struck Somerville in recent months, but the case is under investigation.

Somerville police arrested three young Somerville residents—two juveniles and one 18-year-old—for allegedly lighting boxes on fire in the Assembly Square parking lot between Kmart and Home Depot.

Asked if the alleged attempted arson was connected to the string of fires seen in Somerville over the summer, Somerville Police Deputy Chief Michael Cabral said the case is "under investigation, and there will be follow-up."

On the surface, the Saturday incident in Assembly Square was different from the rash of at least 17 residential fires that have left many in Somerville on edge.

According to a report issued by the Somerville Police Department, a witness called police at about 12:30 a.m. Saturday after seeing three young men pile up cardboard boxes next to a book-donation box in the parking lot between the Home Depot and Kmart. One of the young men lit the boxes on fire, the witness told police.

The witness followed the suspects under Interstate 93, and police stopped them behind the Stop & Shop, according to the report.

One of the young men, a juvenile whose name has been withheld, told police he and his friends were bored, so they were walking around lighting small pieces of paper on fire and playing with orange cones.

Police arrested two juveniles, both Somerville residents, along with Michael Bobick, 18, of 250 Broadway, and charged them with attempted arson.


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