Authorities have charged a student at the College of Saint Elizabeth in Morris Township with arson for allegedly setting fire to a pair of toilet paper rolls in a dormitory bathroom late Wednesday.
Mykia White-Johnson, 18, of Plainfield has been charged with two counts of arson. Judge Thomas Manahan set bail at $10,000, with a 10 percent option. The accused has been barred from returning to campus, Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi said in a statement on Friday.
The fire was out when police and firefighters responded shortly before midnight, but there was heavy smoke in the bathroom in O’Connor Hall, a student dormitory, according to the Prosecutor.
“Although the investigation with the Florham Park Police Department is still on-going, it was prudent to take immediate action due to the possible catastrophic impact that this situation could have had on a college campus,” the Prosecutor said. “There are far too many examples of the loss of life that have already occurred at college campuses throughout the United States from the dangers of fires in a similar context.”
Florham Park police assisted in the investigation because the campus spans the borough as well as Morris Township.
