A 31-year-old man has been arrested and charged with arson after police said he started a fire in a Mesa Target store that caused and estimated $5 million in damage.

Daniel Hull has been interviewed by authorities and admitted to starting the fire that occurred last month in the Target at 1230 S. Longmore, Mesa police said Monday.

Daniel Hull

Officers responded just before 10 p.m. June 27 to the store with a fire extinguisher, shouting to make sure no one was inside and then left as the building filled with too much smoke for them to remain, officials said in a release.

Mesa firefighters arrived and put out the blaze caused after two separate fires were started inside the store – one in the diaper area and another by a shirt that was set on fire, according to authorities.

Target reported damage was upward of $5 million “as toxic smoke had contacted all the merchandise inside the store in addition to fire suppression sprinklers flooding the area,” the release stated.

Store video surveillance captured footage of a man walking through the store and placing items in a shopping cart.

The man picked up a shirt “resembling the one that was set on fire. He hastily moves from the area, toward electronics as smoke is starting to invade the store.

“The man watches the fire grow and then attempts to break into a case of cell phones with a hammer but is unsuccessful,” officials said in the release.

The man is one of the last to leave the store and takes several items of stolen merchandise with him and flees in a black sedan, police said.

Officers obtained a license plate from surveillance video and eventually identified Hull as the suspect.

He faces charges that include arson of an occupied structure, endangerment and criminal damage of more than $5 million.