The fire that destroyed a Knoxville Planned Parenthood on New Year’s Eve was intentionally set. That’s the conclusion of an investigation by the Knoxville Fire Department.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, the Knoxville Fire Department said it had conducted a scene investigation with the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, but had not yet named or located any suspects.
Ashley Coffield, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi, said the fire happened just weeks shy of completing a $2.2 million construction project to double the size of the clinic.
“We are heartbroken at the loss of our beautiful new building, but I’m here to tell you we are committed to Knoxville and East Tennessee, and we are determined to rebuild,” she said at a press conference.
The blaze comes nearly one year after someone fired a shotgun through the glass of the clinic’s front door. The office was unoccupied at the time. Coffield said it’s unclear if the two are related.
“We experience protest activity on a regular basis, but not violence on a regular basis,” she said. “We are horrified by what happened here last year, and there may be a connection here with what happened on Friday, but that’s for the investigators to tell us.”
Knoxville’s Fire Department is asking the community for tips. The department is offering $10,000 for information that leads to the prosecution of anyone involved.
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