UCPD arrests one person suspected for arson, possession of illegal weapon

A UCPD Police Car is pictured. Officers arrested a person Thursday for adding leaves and brush to a campus fire. (Daily Bruin file photo)

By Dylan Winward
Jan. 17, 2025 10:41 a.m.
This post was updated Jan. 20 at 11:35 p.m.
UCPD arrested one person Thursday for adding leaves and brush to a fire on campus.
Officers arrested the person at the Hilgard Bus Turnaround and discovered they had an illegal knife, according to a post on the department’s Instagram. Police quickly extinguished the fire and no damage was done to the terminal, UCPD Acting Captain of the Administrative Bureau Jeffrey Chobanian said in an emailed statement.
The UCLA Fire Department confirmed the fire, which started around 7 p.m., was extinguished, Chobanian said in the statement. The person arrested has no affiliation with UCLA, he said.
The officers who made the arrest were based at UCLA but were assisted by mutual aid officers, he said in the statement. Officers from other UC campuses have participated in increased patrols on campus during week two, according to an earlier post on the UCPD Instagram.
The arrest comes amid fires across Los Angeles County which have burned over 40,000 acres of land since Jan. 7. Although officials have not determined a cause of the Palisades fire – the largest of the fires and the nearest to UCLA – a multi-agency investigation to find the cause is ongoing.
[Related: LIVE: JANUARY 2025 FIRES]
While a National Weather Service Red Flag Warning – indicating critical fire weather – has expired, next week’s weather remains a concern due to predictions of high winds. Students will return to in-person classes Tuesday, UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk said in a Thursday campuswide email.
People who see suspicious activity should report it to UCPD, according to the department’s Instagram post.
“We want to emphasize that proactive patrols are in place to ensure the safety of our campus community,” the department said in the Instagram post. “There will be ZERO tolerance for copycat behavior involving fires, and violators will be arrested.”