Walmart evacuated after man sets fire to clothing rack, North Carolina officials say

A clothing rack at a North Carolina Walmart was set ablaze on Wednesday morning, fire officials say.

A man intentionally set fire to a large clothing rack at the store on Wendover Avenue in Greensboro at about 7 a.m., Tim Henshaw, fire marshal at the Greensboro Fire Department, told McClatchy News.

Firefighters were called to the Walmart, and store employees were working to extinguish the fire when they got there, Henshaw said.

Shoppers were also being evacuated from the store, Henshaw said. Nobody was hurt, and the blaze was contained to the clothing rack.

The store was closed for part of the day while officials investigated and looked at the damage, he said.

Police arrested Leonard Daniel Childress, 42, for starting the fire, Ronald Glenn, spokesperson for the Greensboro Police Department, told McClatchy News.

He has been charged with burning personal property, burning or attempting to burn a building, breaking and entering, larceny after breaking and entering, possession of stolen goods and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to Glenn.

Glenn said he thinks Childress was trying to steal items from the store as well.

Police don’t know why or how Childress started the fire, Glenn said.