Resident of The Hub charged with arson after early morning fires

A man listed as a student in the University of South Carolina student directory was charged with 2 counts of arson following overnight fires at The Hub at 1426 Main Street, the Columbia Police Department said in a news release.

Alexander Eugene Petrillo, 19, was taken into custody after firefighters allegedly witnessed him set fire to a stack of newspapers in the main lobby at the downtown private student housing building.

The Columbia Fire Department was called to The Hub when a fire alarm on the 11th floor was activated shortly before 3 a.m. Tuesday.

While being questioned, Petrillo allegedly admitted intentionally setting the lobby fire and a small paper fire on the 2nd floor that had been extinguished before firefighters arrived on scene.

Petrillo is listed as a student with no major at the Darla Moore School of Business at USC.

He was being held at the Alvin S Glenn Detention Center Tuesday afternoon.

This story was originally published September 26, 2017 at 4:27 PM with the headline "Resident of The Hub charged with arson after early morning fires."