Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au
Four men wanted over Sydney school blaze
Police have warned four young men caught acting “extremely suspiciously” near a $10 million blaze at a western Sydney school to come forward.
June 28, 2018
Four young men seen acting “extremely suspiciously” near a $10 million blaze at a western Sydney primary school have detailed knowledge about the fire, police believe.
The group, believed to in their late teens or early 20s, were urged to contact police after CCTV footage released on Thursday showed they were in the streets near the Parramatta Public School when the fire began on May 19.
Detective Inspector Richard Puffett says the men, who were filmed walking on Little and Charles streets around the time of the fire, were acting extremely suspiciously.
“We believe they have an intimate knowledge of the fire and we want to clarify their role in it,” he told reporters in Sydney on Thursday.
Investigators have already interviewed three 17-year-old girls who were also near the two-storey heritage building at the time of the blaze.
The girls have been cautioned under the Young Offenders Act.
Police have described the arson attack on the school as “quite brazen”.
The blaze is likely to delay the 2019 completion date for the state’s first high-rise high school and multi-storey primary school on the site.
The heritage building was part of the $220 million Arthur Phillip High School and Parramatta Public School project. It was not in use at the time and no one was injured.