Reward offered to solve Brooklyn Park strip mall arson

Two suspects are wanted for starting the fire at the K & J Shopping Center on April 19.

June 10, 2021 at 7:11PM
Flames inside the Top 2 Bottom Fashion store in Brooklyn Park
Flames inside the Top 2 Bottom Fashion store in Brooklyn Park on April 19. (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is offering a $5,000 reward for tips leading to the suspects who set a Brooklyn Park strip mall on fire in April.

Vandals broke into three businesses in the K&J Shopping Center at 3200 N. Brookdale Drive just after 1 a.m. on April 19 and set them ablaze. Surveillance video shows two suspects with gasoline containers pouring a suspected ignitable liquid throughout the businesses. The suspects then ignited the vapors, causing large fireballs to erupt and heavily damaging De Armour Nails, Kelly's Diamond Realty and Top 2 Bottom Fashions.

"This is a clear act of arson," said ATF acting special agent in charge Jon Ortiz with the agency's St. Paul Field Division.

Information can be submitted anonymously, but contact information must be provided to claim the reward. The information must lead to the arrest and conviction of the suspects, the ATF said.

Tips can be left by calling 1-888-283-8477, sending an e-mail to ATFTips@atf.gov or submitting anonymously via ReportIt.com.

Tim Harlow

about the writer

about the writer

Tim Harlow

Reporter

Tim Harlow covers traffic and transportation issues in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, and likes to get out of the office, even during rush hour. He also covers the suburbs in northern Hennepin and all of Anoka counties, plus breaking news and weather. 

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