Police find stolen car engulfed in flames near elementary school

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Police said officers were dispatched to a ShotSpotter alert at 1100 McRae Street around 1 a.m. Saturday morning.

Officers arrived to the scene and found a vehicle on fire in the grass field at Dorothy B. Johnson Elementary school. Police said it had crashed through a fence on the property.

Wilmington police said as Wilmington Fire Department was extinguishing the fire, the owner of the car called in and stated the vehicle was stolen from a business on South College Road.

The Fire Marshall said the cause of the fire could not be determined.

Police believe that the explosions from the car fire set off ShotSpotter.

Police said the suspect was charged with motor vehicle theft, property damage, and fire of unknown origin.