Good samaritans jumped into action and pinned down twenty-six year old, Laneisha Shantrice Henderson, as she tried to set fire to the birth home of Martin Luther King Jr., according to Atlanta police. Law enforcement arrested her and charged her with with a second-degree criminal attempt to commit arson and interference with government property.
Bystanders Stop Woman From Burning Home Where Martin Luther King Jr. Was Born
Two off-duty police officers from New York and two visitors intervened. The woman was arrested and charged with attempted arson, Atlanta police said.
Two visitors from Utah interrupted the woman as she was pouring gasoline on the porch and on the door of the home, Darin Schierbaum, the Atlanta police chief, told reporters on Thursday.
Two off-duty New York Police Department officers who had been visiting the house then chased her down and detained her until the officers from the Atlanta Police Department arrived, he said.
“That action saved an important part of American history tonight,” he added.
Zach Kempf, 43, a filmmaker from Salt Lake City who was there with his co-worker, said he first thought she was simply watering the shrubs in front of the house. Suddenly, she rushed up the stairs and began yanking on the screen door, trying to get in the house.
