CROWN HEIGHTS — Police arrested an 11-year-old on hate crime and arson charges after he and a group of young boys lit a fire inside a school bus parked outside of a Jewish elementary school in Crown Heights, police sources and the NYPD said.
Police said firefighters responded to the blaze at the corner of East New York and Lefferts avenues around 6 p.m. Sunday, set inside a yellow school bus parked in front of the Beth Rivkah elementary school, which is run by the Chabad-Lubavitch Jewish community.
The fire department put out the blaze within an hour, and fire marshals are now investigating, officials said.
The bus was empty at the time of the fire and no one was injured in the incident, police said.
Surveillance footage of the bus fire posted online by CrownHeights.info captured a group of young boys bringing what appears to be cardboard inside the vehicle, setting it on fire and running away.
The blaze grew quickly in the front of the vehicle — with flames visible through the bus doors — and clouds of smoke billowed out as children gathered briefly to watch and one adult passersby checked the bus’ windows, the footage shows.
As of Monday, police said one 11-year-old boy had been arrested in connection to the fire. He will be charged with criminal mischief, arson and a hate crime, police said.
The chartered bus was not assigned to any particular school, but investigators are considering the incident a hate crime because the suspects targeted the bus because it was parked in front of a Jewish school, sources said.
The 11-year-old will be charged as a juvenile. His name is being withheld because of his age.
Police are also looking for three to five other suspects who helped set the blaze, sources said.
