After an incident that left a Southern California Target store in ruins on the evening of Sept. 5, a 4-year-old woman identified as Cynthia Torres has been arrested in connection to the case. According to the Buena Park Police, Torres set fire to the establishment in an attempt to divert attention from her theft of baby formula.
Cynthia Torres set fire inside a Target in California to distract while stealing baby formula. The blaze caused significant damage and led to her arrest. #crime – summary © https://t.co/kvlJoBs4iZ –
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The fire ignited around 7:15 p.m., prompting a swift response from officers with the Buena Park Police Department and the Orange County Fire Authority, who managed to extinguish the flames. Upon conducting a thorough investigation, authorities concluded that Torres intentionally ignited the fire as a distraction to facilitate her baby formula heist.
Eyewitnesses revealed that the fire escalated to the store’s ceiling after consuming the children’s clothing section. It reportedly caused extensive damage to the Orange County store, particularly in the children’s clothing section. Fortunately, the store’s employees were safely evacuated, and no injuries were reported.
The havoc wreaked by the fire translated to approximately $500,000 in structural damage and roughly $1 million in retail losses, predominantly attributed to water and smoke damage.
On Tuesday, authorities successfully identified and put Torres in custody. However, specific charges against her have not been publicly disclosed as the Buena Park police issued a statement stating, “The investigation is ongoing, and further details will be released at a later date.”
Torres is currently held in the Orange County jail on a bail of $250,000 and is scheduled to make a court appearance on Thursday.
This arson incident serves as a grim reminder of the ongoing baby formula crisis faced by Americans during the Biden administration as families across the nation have grappled with unprecedented shortages of baby formula, leaving them in dire need of nourishment for their infants.
Adding to the turmoil, prices for baby formula and baby food in general have surged dramatically, exacerbating the predicament for families already grappling with the effects of “Bidenflation.” A report from Bloomberg in April indicated that prices for baby food and formula surged to an all-time high, marking the steepest increase on record.
While Torres’ actions took the more extreme route, there have been previous reports of baby formula theft, with authorities busting a group of thieves with cans of formula worth tens of thousands of dollars in their car in March.
To address the alarming shortage of baby formula, House Republicans have taken the matter into their own hands, launching an investigation into the catastrophic shortages, as reported by Breitbart News earlier this year.