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PD: Woman tried to burn down homeless shelter in Phoenix, had plans for new one

Posted at 4:44 PM, Sep 16, 2016
and last updated 2016-09-16 19:45:12-04

A woman was arrested after accusations of setting a fire at a homeless shelter in the downtown Phoenix area. 

According to police paperwork, Audrey Camille Akers admitted to officials that she started a fire and was planning on setting even more. 

Akers was inside the homeless shelter, near Jefferson Street and 12th Avenue, in a women's bathroom and went into a stall. Once in the stall, the woman took a plastic bag and placed toilet paper and a t-shirt inside of it. She then sprayed perfume on it and lit the bag and its contents on fire. 

The woman then placed the burning bag on a hand pole against a wall of the building. 

Women in the shelter ran out of the sleeping area near the bathroom; they notified staff members who were able to extinguish the flames by using water bottles. Fire crews did evacuate the building, which housed almost 500 people at the time. 

The woman told police she had plans for the new homeless shelter if staff members wanted the plans after her attempt to burn down the building. 

The woman was booked into jail on one count of arson.