An apparent arsonist in a fire in Sherrills Ford appears to set himself or herself aflame in a video released Thursday by the Catawba County Sheriff's Office.
The fire occurred at Lake Norman RV Resort on Hwy. 150 on Nov. 1.
In the video, it appears the suspect is dousing the office of the business with a flammable material before igniting a fire. The suspect then flees the building with literally his pants on fire.
Firefighters were called to the business on Saturday to find the business office ablaze around 1 a.m. The office suffered heavy damage, according to the release.
The Catawba County Fire Marshal's Office and Catawba County Sheriff's Office also responded and initiated an investigation into the cause and origin of this fire.
Video footage from the RV resort's surveillance system shows a person dressed in black pants, black hoodie with the hood pulled over his or her head approaching the business office, the release stated. This person was also wearing a white face mask and is seen carrying a pry bar and a red gas can. This person forced entry to the business office and doused it with accelerant. This person then ignited that structure.
The video footage shows this person caught themselves on fire during that time. The person ran away from the business office as they try to extinguish themselves. The item on fire in the parking lot that this person attempts to pick up is a bag of money taken from inside the business office prior to the fire being ignited, according to the release.
The video also shows a vehicle waiting on the road. That vehicle is suspected of taking the suspect away from the scene of the fire, according to the release.
Authorities say it appears the suspect suffered burns during this incident.
Anyone with information concerning the person seen on this video and or information concerning this investigation is asked to contact the Catawba County Sheriff's Office at 828-464-3112.
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