Downtown Shreveport Landmark Damaged by Fire; Suspect Arrested
Shreveport firefighters made short work of a potentially-devestating fire this afternoon at the old Arlington Hotel in the 700 block of Common Street. They got the call just after 1:45 and arrived 3 minutes later to find smoke coming from a second floor window. They quickly made access to the abandoned building and found a fire in one room, which they quickly extinguished and kept it from spreading to any other rooms of the historic structure. Witnesses saw a man leaving the building just before the fire was discovered and reported that. Shreveport police were able to locate and detain a suspect a short time later. After questioning by police and fire investigators, 25-year-old Christopher Budds was arrested and charged with one count of simple arson. There were no injuries reported as a result of the fire and the investigation is on-going.