UC professor charged with setting 5 fires

SANTA ANA, Calif. — Authorities in California say a college professor whose son committed suicide plotted to kill students and teachers at a high school, then burn down the campus.

Rainer Reinscheid is accused of setting a series of fires at the Orange County high school his son once attended. He’s charged with five counts of arson and one count of attempted arson.

Authorities plan to ask that Reinscheid be denied bail.

Prosecutors say Reinscheid started five fires at University High School earlier this month. His son had been a student there, and was disciplined this past spring before committing suicide at a park preserve.

Reinscheid is a professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of California, Irvine. Prosecutors believe Reinscheid was acting alone but it wasn’t clear if he was targeting anyone specifically.

Source: The Associated Press