BELLEVUE, Wash. — A busy grocery store in Bellevue had to be evacuated after someone set a fire in the back of the store.
Bellevue police said the fire broke out shortly after 9 p.m. Sunday at Whole Foods on Northeast Eighth Street in Bellevue.
Police said a shoplifting suspect was being questioned at the store when a small fire broke out nearby.
Police said they believe the fire was set to create a diversion for the shoplifting suspect or as retaliation for the man being detained.
Everyone in the store was cleared out after the fire alarm sounded and sprinklers deployed.
Police are still looking for the arsonist, who may be a second shoplifting suspect who got into a confrontation with security as the other man was being questioned.