Alabaster juvenile identified as Helena Publix arsonist

By NOAH WORTHAM | Managing Editor

HELENA – The Helena Police Department has shared that an 11-year-old juvenile was responsible for the fire at the Publix supermarket at Crow’s Corner on July 15.

The Helena Fire Department was dispatched to 4730 Highway 17 at 12:48 p.m. on Monday, July 15 to a structure fire at the Publix at Crow’s Corner in Helena. Store employees were evacuated from the building prior to the department’s arrival.

The fire department crew arrived on scene to find the fire coming from a restroom which had reached the ceiling and activated fire suppression systems—causing significant damage. The damage from the fire was limited to the restroom area and there were no injuries.

Officers from the Helena Police Department also responded to the scene and were informed by the HFD that the fire seemed to have been intentional. At that time, HPD detectives and a fire investigation detective responded to the scene to initiate an investigation and process the crime scene—after which they were able to identify a person of interest in less than an hour and located the individual at a residence in Alabaster.

After additional investigation, an 11-year-old Juvenile has been charged with arson in the first degree and juvenile petitions have been issued by the Shelby County Juvenile Court.

According to the Helena Police Department, due to the age of the individual behind the incident, no information on their identity will be released.

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