Fremont police and fire investigating are looking at three suspicious fires set early Monday morning within minutes and a couple hundred yards of each other at two schools and one park.
"We are suspecting arson because of the proximity," Sgt. Ramin Mahboobi said.
He added that police aren't sure which of the fires was set first, because they were all so close together.
The fires, all set about 3 a.m., were set at Warm Springs Elementary School on Sterling Avenue, Warm Springs Park, and James Leitch Elementary School on Fernald Avenue, where a portable that houses an afterschool program was burned. That program likely will be moved into the multi-purpose room.
Someone called 911 after hearing the James Leitch alarm system going off.
"It's very sad," parent Maureen Buchanan said. Her child attends the afterschool program.
No one can figure out why these buildings that house children are being targeted.
"It's very serious," Fremont Unified School District Supt. James Morris said. "And very upsetting."
Of all the locations, the bathroom at the Warm Springs Park appeared to have the most significant damage, Mahboobi said.
The bathroom at Warm Springs Park in Fremont was torched, likely by an arsonist, police said.
A Little League shed at the Warm Springs Elementary baseball field also was charred beyond use, and police said a shack, located behind the school (pictured above), was burned a couple of months ago.
There were no injuries reported and no witnesses at the scene.
Police said they have no suspects at this time.
