By: Las Vegas Now Staff
Clark County school police say they arrested a 17-year-old student on a felony arson charge after a two-alarm fire in a gym locker room at Palo Verde High School.
School police Capt. James Ketsaa says the teen is being held in juvenile detention pending a court appearance. His name isn't being released.
The fire was reported a little after 9 a.m. Thursday at the school in the Summerlin section of the city.
About 3,400 students were safely evacuated, and fire officials say sprinklers kept the flames in check in a locked and chained area of the boy's locker room until firefighters arrived. No injuries are reported.
A fire spokesman says a bank of lockers was destroyed, and damage was mostly confined to the locker room.
Ketsaa says the teen's motive and method for allegedly setting the fire remains under investigation.
He says clean-up and repairs, including fixing a hole that firefighters had to cut in the roof, could be expensive.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
