New Jersey

8 Minors Charged in Arson at NJ Baseball Field for Kids With Disabilities

The “Field of Dreams” allows children, regardless of their disability, to play baseball for free

An overhead shot shows an arrow pointing to a charred baseball field devoted to disabled children.
Gloucester Township Police Department

Eight minors have been charged in connection to an arson last month at a baseball field designed for children with disabilities.

The group of five boys and three girls is responsible for setting fire to a portion of the “Field of Dreams” in Gloucester Township, New Jersey, on July 29, the Gloucester Township Police Department said.

Police said they obtained surveillance video showing the group walking onto the field shortly after 2 a.m. One of the boys set fire to a 55-gallon plastic trash can near third base while another tried to light a plastic bottle in the dugout, police said.

The group ran away around three minutes later, when the fire “grew excessively large,” the GTPD said.

The fire did about $3,200 worth of damage, police said.

The boy who set fire to the trash can was charged with third-degree arson and criminal trespass. The rest were charged only with criminal trespass.

Police did not reveal the ages of the suspects.

The “Field of Dreams” allows children, regardless of their disability, to play baseball for free.

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