Natalie White: Woman who burned down Wendy's where Rayshard Brooks was shot is his girlfriend, says fire dept
A 29-year-old woman has been identified as the suspect for setting fire to Wendy's restaurant in Atlanta where Rayshard Brooks was shot dead. What's more, she was probably Brooks' girlfriend.
The Atlanta Fire Rescue Department took to Twitter on Saturday, June 20, to announce that an arrest warrant has been issued for Natalie White who has been suspected of arson in the first degree via a statement.
The post read, "An arrest warrant has been issued by Atlanta Fire Investigators for Ms. Natalie White. She has been identified as a suspect in the arson fire that burned down the Wendy’s Restaurant (125 University Ave) on Saturday, June 13th. Call 404-577-TIPS or 1-800-282-5804 with any info."
Natalie White is suspected of being involved in the burning of a Wendy's joint on June 13 amid protests against the killing of Rayshard Brooks who was shot by a white police officer, The New York Times reports.
As per video footage from the body camera, Brooks had repeatedly referred to a 'Natalie White' as his girlfriend on the night he was shot and killed. The investigation is currently going on with a representative for the Atlanta Fire Department saying, "We are not releasing any additional information at this time."
On Friday, June 12, officer Garrett Rolfe and Brosnan had responded to a call from a parking lot of a Wendy's. Brooks had been drunk and had fallen asleep at the eatery's drive-in. The officers reportedly administered a sobriety test, which he failed.
After he resisted arrest, Brooks grabbed the Brosnan's Taser and fled on foot. He then turned and pointed the Taser at a police officer, at which point he was shot dead. The incident led to public outrage and as a result, Rolfe was fired and Police Chief Erika Shields resigned.
We had previously reported that on June 17, the Atlanta Fire Department had released clearer photographs of one of the two women suspected of burning down Wendy's restaurant.
The latest pictures released by the city fire department shows a white woman wearing a black mini-dress with a purple cardigan wrapped around her waist as she walks into the store. In the picture, she is also seen sporting a ponytail and a pair of sunglasses on her head. While in another, she can be seen laughing in front of Wendy's restaurant as it is engulfed in flames.
The woman seen in the photographs was the same one who was seen in a video that showed her setting fire to the restaurant while protesters surrounded it. In the video clip, protesters can be heard slamming the arsonist for setting fire and insisted that it had not been Black Lives Matters supporters who had started the fire.
The man who had recorded the video can be heard saying, "Look at the white girl trying to set s*** on fire." The officer who killed Brooks, Garrett Rolfe, was charged with felony murder and 10 other counts. The second officer Devin Brosnan was charged with lesser counts that included aggravated assault and a violation of his oath.
We had earlier shared that Brosnan had suffered a concussion. He had also sustained injuries during the altercation with Brooks, 27, the officers' attorney revealed during an interview with CNN.