Follow-Up: Alabama Man Charged With Arson of Senatobia Police Department in Mississippi
There is a new development in the arson attack on the police department building in Senatobia, a city in Tate County, Mississippi. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Mississippi announced that Garrick Rawls, 41, of Huntsville, Alabama, has been charged by criminal complaint with arson and arrested for his role in firebombing the Senatobia Police Department. U.S. Attorney Scott F. Leary made the announcement; Rawls was located in the Northern District of Alabama earlier this week.
According to court documents, on October 31, 2026, the Senatobia Police Department building was set on fire. The Senatobia Fire Department extinguished the flames, and agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) responded to the scene and began an investigation. Security cameras captured an individual breaking into the police department with what appeared to be a gas can. The individual matched the description of Rawls, and additional video, electronic and physical evidence pointed to him being the perpetrator.
On November 2, Rawls was charged by criminal complaint with arson. He is being held in custody in the Northern District of Alabama awaiting a detention hearing set for November 13, 2026. At the time of the offense, Rawls was under conditions of a state court bond in Alabama.
The investigation remains active and is being conducted by the ATF. The Huntsville Police Department played a major role in the arrest of Rawls, and the case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Julie Addison. U.S. Attorney Leary said the ATF is among the office's most valuable partners, working around the clock on this serious incident. ATF Special Agent in Charge Joshua Jackson said the investigation is dynamic and that multiple persons who have knowledge of the arson, or who played a role in obstructing justice to assist Rawls, are believed to be outstanding, and he asked the public and those with direct knowledge of the crime to contact ATF at 1-888-ATF-TIPS.
As GSM reported earlier, the Senatobia Police Department building caught fire in the early hours of October 31 and police services were not interrupted at the time. The department has been at the center of public attention this year: in June, an officer shot and killed 1-year-old Kohen Wiley while responding to a shoplifting call at a Walmart, and the state Attorney General's office later found the officer's use of force justified. Federal prosecutors have not announced a motive for the arson.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and Rawls is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. (Source: U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Mississippi)
Source: 美国司法部密西西比州北区联邦检察官办公室
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国司法部罗伯特·肯尼迪大楼。APK 摄，CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building. By APK, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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