Police: L.I. Elementary School Fire 'Intentional'
WEST HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (CBS 2) -- Investigators are hoping a Long Island community can help them solve a seemingly irrational crime Tuesday night.
Police say someone intentionally set the George Washington Elementary School in West Hempstead on fire just weeks before the first day of classes.
CBS 2's Jennifer McLogan spoke to parents and students worried about being displaced.
"It's very scary to see that my room got on fire," said Casey Levey, who will enter the third grade this fall.
"For someone to set it on fire, that' just not fair, to everyone especially my teacher," said Casey's sister Ciara Levey, a sixth grader. "She was here last night and she was heartbroken."
Less than a month before the first day of school, the suspicious blaze caused extensive damage to the school. The Nassau County fire marshal says it was intentionally set.
The arson squad is investigating the possibility that loitering teens threw a Molotov cocktail or fireworks into a classroom.
The West Hempstead School district is now posting all updates on the status of the school repairs and plans for September on its Web site.
