JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The St. Augustine Police Department is searching for a man who started a fire at the St. Augustine Pirate & Treasure Museum.
On Tuesday afternoon, a man wearing a mask and carrying a backpack entered the museum. Because everyone has become accustomed to masks during the pandemic, the mask did raise any red flags. He proceeded to set a package on fire that he had been carrying, according to the manager of the museum, Cindy Stavely.
A museum visitor then ran to an employee to alert them of a small fire in one of the rooms. The employee grabbed a fire extinguisher and quickly put out the flames. Thankfully, no artifacts were burned and no one was hurt during the incident, Stavely confirmed.
The attempted arson was captured on video.
This is an active investigation. If you have any information about the incident or the person of interest, please contact St. Augustine Police Detective Miller at cmiller@staugpd.com or 904-209-3484.
