COVINGTON, La. — Tuesday, a steady stream of customers arrived at the Walmart Supercenter on Highway 190 near Covington, only to be turned away at the door.
Sunday night, St. Tammany Parish firefighters put out a smokey blaze inside the store.
Authorities accused two boys, ages 17 and 15 of starting the fire.
“I think it’s crazy, really, I don’t know what else to say, you know,” said customer Ed Hollister. “We like Walmart and it’s a shame.”
“It’s inconveniencing a lot of folks,” customer Rich Osborne said. “There’s no doubt about it. I can see them pulling out of the parking lot here.”
The teens were arrested and booked on one count each of aggravated arson, conspiracy to commit aggravated arson and manufacturing and possession of a delayed action incendiary device.
“It’s pretty clear cut,” said St. Tammany fire investigator Chief Ollie Brumfield. "We have video. We dug through the fire. We found the evidence. It was intentionally set.”
Chief Brumfield says the fire started in the automotive section.
Store sprinklers knocked down the flames and firefighters entered with a hose and quickly got the fire under control.
About 200 customers were inside the store at the time and had to be evacuated.
Fortunately, no one was injured.
“It’s dangerous because people don’t realize smoke kills you before fire,” Brumfield said. “The fire put out a ton of smoke. I just picked up the video. The whole store was covered in smoke.”
Customers don’t know why anyone would want to set their Walmart on fire.
“Was it just a game to them or did they have some ulterior motive, Hollister said.
“Just trying to be mischievous, I guess,” Osborne said. “That’s a little bit more than you would expect, though.”
In a statement, Walmart said it is working with the store to reopen it as soon as possible. The timeframe is unclear. It could remain closed anywhere from two weeks to a month.
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