Chicago police are investigating a string of arson fires that erupted late Sunday night in Logan Square. No injuries were reported, but there was significant damage to at least one garage, and a vehicle was destroyed.
Fire department and police personnel responded to a string of fires starting around 11 p.m. near the 2200 and 2300 blocks of North Rockwell and North Campbell. The streets share a common alley. One fire on the 2200 block of Rockwell gutted a garage and a vehicle that was parked inside. Utility workers were on the scene Monday afternoon to repair overhead cables that suffered damage during the fire.
According to CFD records, other fires were confirmed on the 2500 block of North Campbell and the 2500 block of West Fullerton.
Surveillance video provided to CWBChicago by a local resident shows an apparently heavy-set man setting fire to a dumpster in an alley to start one of the blazes. A second video clip shows the man wearing what appears to be sunglasses as he walks away. Police officers who saw surveillance video first-hand on Sunday night described the suspect as a heavy-set Hispanic man wearing a white coat and carrying a backpack.
The videos provided to CWBChicago are part of a compilation of video clips that residents shared amongst themselves on Monday morning. No one is in custody.
Some residents speculated that the fires may be the work of an arsonist who set a string of at least five fires in nearby Bucktown between 9:30 and 10:30 p.m. on August 25. Police have not made that connection, however.
The Bucktown arsonist video shows a White, Asian, or Hispanic man walking with a distinct limp.
No arrests have been made in either fire spree.
