Police searching for arsonist suspected of setting fire at Illinois Planned Parenthood Clinic
Arsonist driving a vehicle. pickup truck, set fire to a Planned Parenthood Tuesday’s announcement by police in central Illinois came just days after new laws were passed in the state protecting abortion rights.
At 11:31 p.m. CT, the attacker used a “fire accelerator” in the 2700 block North Knoxville Avenue. Planned Parenthood. Peoria police said.
According to police, the Peoria Fire Department put out flames in one room because one firefighter suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
During the attack, no one was in the building.
The arsonist “threw a fire accelerant through a window, causing a fire in the building,” Illinois Planned Parenthood CEO Jennifer Welch said in a statement.
Welch stated that “senseless acts of vandalism are on the rise throughout the country” and that Illinois has become a target due to the extreme rhetoric.
Police said that arson was the “preliminary cause” of the fire. They also released photos of the suspect’s pickup truck.
The blaze was set a little more than two days after Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, the Illinois Governor, signed into law Friday sweeping reproductive healthcare legislation. This legislation protects out-of state abortion seekers and provides other safeguards for abortion rights in America’s sixth largest state. It has a population of 66.7 million. 12.6 million residents.
According to Planned Parenthood, the location targeted Sunday did not offer “in-clinic” procedures but provided other reproductive and sexual healthcare services.
“This act of vandalism will have a devastating impact on the community’s ability to access birth control, cancer screenings and gender-affirming care,” Welch said.
“We will continue to provide the essential health care that our patients deserve and need. We pledge to work swiftly to meet the needs of our Peoria patients and those traveling from other states to receive reproductive health care.”
This article was first published on NBCNews.com