7-Year-Old Arrested And Charged With Arson After Family's Home Intentionally Set On Fire

A West Virginia child, aged seven, has been taken into custody and accused of committing first-degree arson by allegedly setting fire to his family's home while his parents were present.

Picture for representation purpose / Getty Images

After reportedly setting the family house on fire, a 7-year-old was detained and charged.

The Jackson County Sheriff's Department in West Virginia reported that the kid was charged with first-degree arson.

The house was in flames when a depressing picture was posted on Facebook.

Jackson County Sheriffs Dpt.

All four occupants of the residence were alive and well, according to authorities, although two of them had minor burns.

On Wednesday evening, the child was brought into imprisonment.

The police claimed that while his parents were home, the boy attempted to set his house on fire.

Police cited the case as being "sensitive" and declined to provide any other information.

In a statement, police said: "This evening a [seven] year old juvenile is in custody and charged with first-degree arson after the family home was intentionally set ablaze with the parents asleep inside.”

"Minor burn injuries occurred to two individuals, but everyone made it out of the home alive.”

"No further information will be released regarding the investigation because of the sensitive nature of the case.”

"Special thanks goes out this evening to the responding volunteer fire departments and the WV State Fire Marshal's Office."

A fire is being investigated by the West Virginia State Fire Marshal's Office.

In West Virginia, citations or a criminal complaint can be used to charge children.

Children under the age of 12 in New York will no longer be arrested and brought before a judge for the majority of crimes, thanks to a measure that Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law in January 2022.

The legislation does not cover homicide.

Young children are frequently arrested, according to a USA Today analysis.

More than 2,600 arrests in schools between 2000 and 2019 involved kids between the ages of five and nine, according to federal crime data.

A CBS News investigation also revealed that from 2017 to 2018, more than 11,000 kids were arrested and law enforcement was summoned to elementary and middle schools more than 79,000 times.