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After String of North Side Arsons, 17-Year-Old Charged in North Center Fire

By  Bettina  Chang and Ariel Cheung | November 19, 2015 8:09pm | Updated on November 19, 2015 8:28pm

 A 17-year-old boy was charged with 8 felony counts for the fire in the 1900 block of West Diversey.
A 17-year-old boy was charged with 8 felony counts for the fire in the 1900 block of West Diversey.
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CHICAGO — Police say they have nabbed a suspect in at least one of a string of arsons on the North Side.

Police charged a 17-year-old boy in connection with a fire in the 1900 block of West Diversey at about 6:50 p.m. Nov. 10, according to a news release Thursday night. He was charged with eight felony counts of aggravated arson, knowing a person was present.

The fire, near where Diversey crosses the Chicago River at the border of North Center and Lincoln Park, was started in a trash receptacle and displaced six people, according to a Sun-Times report. The fire was connected to a string of arsons on the North Side.

Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) alerted residents in Lakeview and North Center in an email Nov. 9 about the suspicious fires, citing six instances in the two neighborhoods from Oct. 11 to Oct. 28.

Waguespack wrote that arsonists typically ignited available material in alleys like trash bins, mattresses and discarded paper boxes. Several garages were destroyed or damaged, but most fires had been contained to the garbage bins.

The anonymously run blog Crime in Wrigleyville + Boystown counted 12 suspicious fires that weekend, totaling 18 since Oct. 12. An unnamed police officer attributed some of the fires to children seen on video, the blog reported.

Police did not say if the 17-year-old who was charged was also linked to previous fires. They said no further details were available at the time. Police do not release mugshots for juveniles.

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