MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Investigators say someone set a fire in a Berclair tattoo shop on purpose Friday morning.
The manager of the shop at Graham and Summer said they just moved into the building and were about ready to open.
But now instead of opening, the employees of tattoo shop Devil’s Playground have to deal with fire damage as they try to get their business off the ground. It’s even tougher on the shop’s manager who’s trying open the brand new business.
“That’s sad when you trying to start our own business, you’re trying to work for a living, and you got people out here trying to tear down what you built,” a person near the area said.
The flames broke out in a back room around 6 a.m. with flickering light from the blaze caught on camera.
Minutes later, firefighters were at the front door trying to break the glass before using crowbars to pry open the door and put out the fire.
The fast response is all thanks to a gas station clerk next door who saw smoke coming from the building and called 911.
Investigators think the arsonist got up on the roof and poured some type of fuel into this air vent before setting it ablaze.
But the shop’s manager claimed he has no idea who did this, or why.
He didn’t want to show his face on camera but said the damage was thankfully contained to that back room.
Parts of the incident were caught on camera, but the arsonist wasn’t. Police are still looking for whoever is responsible, and there’s no video of what happened on the roof.
