Manchester supermarket set ablaze, suspect taken into police custody

The police in Manchester have taken into custody a man believed to be of unsound mind for his suspected involvement in an arson attack on Wednesday morning. 

It is alleged the man started a fire in the bag room of a supermarket in the Christiana town centre, which spread to the rest of the establishment.

Deputy superintendent at the Mandeville Fire Station, Rohan Powell, said a call was received at the Christiana Fire Station at about 2:20 a.m.

He said the fire which started in the bag room spread to the interior of the supermarket but was quickly contained.

The estimated loss, he said, is $300,000 with an estimated risk of $200 million.

No one was injured.

Popular business operator in the area , Lennox Powell, said while this is the first time an incident of this nature has happened in the town centre, there is no unease within the business community. 

"Normally most people in Christiana try to treat people of unsound mind good. We try to  feed them if they are hungry, give them a biscuit and juice or $100"

Powell said this key in helping to avoid any instance where a mentally ill person may act violently as a result of perceived ill-treatment.

According to residents, it is believed the man may have been met with aggression by some  business owners the previous day.

"Some business persons don't understand that... Sometimes the best way to deal with them is not use aggression. Understand that they are not well  and treat them accordingly. We know many of them (unsound persons) by name and we talk to them how they can understand. We try to treat them with as much respect as possible and we generally don't have any issues." Powell ended

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