Texas Capitol Police Seek ‘Person of Interest,’ Car Fire Possibly Arson

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is seeking help from the public in identifying a “person of interest” (shown above) in connection with a car fire on the grounds of the Texas Capitol. The vehicle had been identified earlier on Friday by a Twitter user as belonging to a Texas House Sergeant at Arms employee, James “Trey” Morgan.

The car was parked just south of the entrance to the Capitol in a secured parking area. The fire appears to have been intentionally set at about 2:00 p.m.

Breitbart Texas’ Lana Shadwick reported Friday afternoon that the dark colored car was seen by workers in the Capitol engulfed in flames. The Austin Fire Department quickly responded to the fire. They were able to stop the flames from spreading to other adjacently parked vehicles.

The white male, shown above, was seen earlier in the day on the grounds of the Capitol, according to the DPS. He was seen wearing dark colored shorts, a black T-shirt and a camouflaged baseball cap.

In a written statement, the DPS stated the State Fire Marshall’s Office (a division of the DPS) is conducting an arson investigation in relation to the car fire.

Trey Morgan thanked people for their support on Twitter.

@85thLegislature @kimmielanee @caitmeise thanks for the support y’all! Means a lot to me! I should be good for now. #txlege

— James (Trey) Morgan (@MorgantheIII) August 7, 2015

DPS officials called the man in the photo above, a “person of interest” in this case. It is not known if he is being sought as a suspect or a potential witness. The unknown male was captured on video entering the south entrance of the Capitol grounds at 9:08 on Friday morning, about five hours before the fire began.

The DPS is asking for help from the public. “If the public has any information about this individual or this incident, they are urged to call law enforcement at (512) 472-TIPS,” according to the DPS statement.

Bob Price is a senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas and a member of the original Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.