Fire at Mississippi Community College Believed to be Arson

Surveillance video shows that an intruder lit the fire that damaged a building at a Mississippi community college.

The predawn Thursday blaze damaged more than half of Mississippi Delta Community College’s Stauffer-Wood Administration Building in Moorhead.

College spokesman Reed Abraham tells The Greenwood Commonwealth that officials first suspected arson because a van was also stolen. Abraham says keys to the van were kept in a building office.

The burned van was recovered miles away.

Abraham says the intruder was inside for more than an hour before setting the fire.

The state Fire Marshal’s office is offering a $5,000 reward for information.

President Larry Nabors says the fire won’t affect plans for classes to resume on Jan. 2. He says the college is looking for new offices for displaced employees.

Topics Education Mississippi Universities