ATF Offers Reward in Strasser Apartment Complex Arson

MANHATTAN, Kan. — The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Kansas City Field Division is offering a reward of $10,000 for anyone who has information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for a fire at the Strasser Village Apartments.

The fire, which caused an estimated $2.7 million in damage to the apartment building, was reported at approximately 2:38 a.m. on Nov. 6, 2011. The Strasser Village Apartments, located at 4th St. and Leavenworth, was under construction at the time of the fire. The fire also caused extensive damage to numerous nearby businesses.

Following a detailed scene investigation, the fire was ruled incendiary. Sufficient evidence was recovered by investigators eliminating all known potential accidental causes. The scene investigation was conducted by ATF’s National Response Team (NRT), ATF’s Kansas City Field Division, the Manhattan Fire Department, the Riley County Police Department and the Kansas State Fire Marshal’s Office. The team of investigators took photographs, recovered potential evidence from the scene for analysis by the ATF’s National Laboratory and conducted more than 90 interviews throughout the community.

The ongoing criminal investigation is being conducted by ATF, the Manhattan Fire Department, the Riley County Police Department and the Kansas State Fire Marshal’s Office. Anyone with the information about the incident should call ATF at 1–888–ATF–FIRE or 816–559–0710.

ATF is the federal agency with jurisdiction for investigating fires and crimes of arson. For more information about ATF, go to ATF.gov. Follow @ATFHQ on Twitter.