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Investigators are looking into an alleged arson that occurred last night at a Thousand Oaks Planned Parenthood. Firefighters as well as Ventura County Sheriff's Deputies responded last night at about 11:30 p.m. to the Planned Parenthood at 1200 Hillcrest Drive after an alarm sounded in the building, the L.A. Times reports. Authorities found a broken window and that a fire had been set in the lobby, which had triggered the building's sprinkler systems. There was some damage caused by both the fire and the sprinklers, and it's not clear if the office will be open today.
Police believe that the arsonist threw a rock through the window, then doused the lobby with gasoline before setting it ablaze, according to Ventura County Sheriff's Captain John Reilly. Reilly also said that this same Planned Parenthood was vandalized several weeks ago, but that it was a minor incident.
Investigators will be reviewing surveillance footage from the office's security cameras.
This alleged attack comes in the midst of controversy regarding federal funding of the Planned Parenthood, and in the wake of a number of undercover videos that appeared to show Planned Parenthood officials talking about using fetal tissue for research. Planned Parenthood has said that those videos were heavily edited by pro-life activists to paint the organization is a false light, and investigations have been unable to produce any evidence suggesting that Planned Parenthood is doing anything more than allowing patients to donate fetal tissue for research.
