The Associated Press
CLAYTON, N.J. — A 15-year-old New Jersey girl has been arrested on charges of arson and attempted murder, accused of setting her family’s house on fire and trying to kill them, authorities say.
The girl faces two counts of aggravated arson and six counts of attempted murder in the 2 a.m. Saturday fire at the family’s Clayton home in southwest New Jersey, the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office said in a news release.
The suspect has not been identified because she is a juvenile. She is to appear in Family Court Monday in Woodbury.
The office said six members of the family, including the girl, were injured in the fire. The office said the teen suspect suffered burns to her feet; another juvenile girl suffered a hip injury when she jumped from the second floor of the home to escape the blaze.
A woman and another relative, who were primarily responsible for helping get the others out of the house, were taken to a burn center in Upland, Pa. The prosecutor’s office said the two had internal burns.
The office said the woman’s husband and a 9-year-old child were treated for burns to their feet and legs. A 6-year-old child in the home was not injured, according to the prosecutor.
Investigators believe the fire was set with gasoline. Smoke alarms in the house woke members of the family. Firefighters were able to put the blaze out quickly; damage was confined to the second floor of the single-family home.
The teenage suspect was treated for her injuries and placed in the Camden County juvenile detention center.