A 33-year-old arson suspect has been jailed in lieu of $2.085 million bail in connection with a fire at a homeless encampment in the Harvard Park area of South Los Angeles that injured two people, one critically.
Firefighters responded to the 1600 block of West Slauson Avenue near Denker Avenue about 5:10 a.m. Sept. 5 where they discovered a 27-year-old woman and a 36-year-old man suffering from burn injuries, according to Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The injured patients said they were in a nearby homeless encampment when their tent was purposely set on fire, Humphrey said.
The man sustained burns to nearly 30 percent of his body, including his hands, feet and legs. He was taken to a hospital in critical but stable condition.
A preliminary investigation that included witness statements led Los Angeles police to arrest Shalonda Shaw, 33, a homeless woman who lived in the same general area as the attack, he said.
Anyone who may have witnessed the fire being set or can provide additional information was asked to call the fire department’s Arson/Counter-Terrorism Section at (213) 893-9800.
