Man charged in fire at Senatobia police headquarters

An Alabama man was charged Monday in federal court with arson after a fire damaged the Senatobia, Mississippi, police headquarters early Saturday.

Garrick Rawls faces a federal arson charge in connection with the blaze, which was reported just after 4:30 a.m. Saturday at the police building. A federal affidavit signed by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent Joshua Garrett states that security cameras captured a man in a mask and dark clothing breaking a window at the headquarters. The man emptied a canister into the lobby, left the building and ignited it. An explosion threw the person into the street with fire on several body parts. The person attempted to put out flames on a body and a backpack before running off on foot.

Investigators recovered a partially burned boot, latex gloves, a hammer and a gas can nozzle at the scene. The affidavit states that community members helped identify Rawls. Agents found him in Huntsville, Alabama, on Monday. He was wearing a large bandage and walking with a limp, the affidavit says. Rawls describes himself on social media as a civil rights activist based in Huntsville, more than 220 miles from Senatobia.

Prosecutors have not stated a motive. The affidavit describes Rawls as "a civil rights activist who has been extremely active in the Senatobia community following the death of Kohen Wiley." Wiley, 1 year old, died in June when a Senatobia officer fired into a moving vehicle while responding to a shoplifting call. The boy was in the vehicle with his mother, who was not hurt, and her friend, who was seriously injured. The women said they had stolen nothing, and no charges were filed against them. A state investigation found no criminal wrongdoing by the officer, while Wiley's family has argued the force used was not justified.

The night before the fire, Rawls appeared in another activist's social media video at a candlelit vigil for Wiley in Senatobia, according to the affidavit. A federal public defender for Rawls did not respond to a request for comment.