CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte authorities have arrested a black man in what they’ve described as a racially tinged arson attack on an immigrant-owned store specializing in goods from the Indian subcontinent.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said in a statement Sunday that 32-year-old Curtis Flournoy has been charged with multiple counts including ethnic intimidation and burning a commercial building.
Authorities have said someone set a fire Thursday at the Central Market that burnt itself out. A window was broken with a rock, and a threatening note at the scene was signed “White America.” The note complained about refugee business owners. No one was injured.
The store sells goods from Nepal, India and Pakistan among other countries.
Online jail records didn’t say whether Flournoy had an attorney. A phone listing for him was disconnected.
