Downtown Nashville woke up to a mess Monday after a string of fires torched businesses and city property along one of the city’s busiest corridors. By the time the smoke cleared, Metro police had a 49-year-old suspect in custody near 12th Avenue and Broadway. No one was hurt, but storefronts and a nearby construction site were left scorched as officers raced to connect a trail of suspicious blazes across Lower Broadway and 12th Avenue.
Investigators linked the man to several intentionally set fires, including at an Exxon on Broadway, a McDonald’s, and a White Castle along Broadway, Goodfellas Pizza, the Night We Met nightclub, a construction site on 12th Avenue North, and three Metro government-owned trash cans, according to WKRN. Police said a mix of security-camera footage and cellphone video helped them track the same suspect across the downtown strip.
Two of the businesses named sit in the 12th Avenue corridor, with Night We Met listed at 114 12th Avenue North and the Exxon Tiger Market at 1111 Broadway, according to downtown business listings from Nashville Downtown. With bars, restaurants, and active construction packed into a few blocks, the area is primed for fast-moving damage, and business owners were left sizing up cleanup work after the early-morning fires.
While talking with fire investigators at the Exxon, officials said the suspect, identified as Mitchell Stroud, 49, admitted to setting two of the fires at 12th Avenue and Grundy and at 12th Avenue and Demonbreun. Officers reported finding a lighter on him when he was detained. He was booked into the Metro jail on nine counts of felony arson and held on a $135,000 bond, as reported by WKRN.
How Investigators Linked The Fires
Police said investigators relied heavily on surveillance and public video to connect behavior and movements at multiple scenes along the downtown corridor. The Nashville Fire Department’s arson unit, which works with Metro detectives on incendiary cases, reviews physical evidence, camera footage, and burn patterns to determine a fire’s origin and cause, a process detailed by the Nashville Fire Department.
Legal Next Steps
Stroud faces multiple felony arson charges as prosecutors weigh whether to pursue any additional counts and prepare to bring the case before a judge or grand jury. He is legally presumed innocent and is scheduled to appear in court while detectives continue reviewing video, statements, and physical evidence from the scenes.
Police have asked anyone with more footage or information to contact the Metro Nashville Police Department. Downtown business owners and residents said the fires were unsettling but added they were grateful no one was injured, as city crews moved in to document damage and start cleanup at several charred spots around the neighborhood.
