New York Landlord Intentionally Set Apartment on Fire Over Unpaid Rent with SIX Children Inside.
A New York landlord was so mad over his tenants not paying their rent that he set their apartment on fire. WITH THEIR FAMILY INSIDE.
The apartment building, located in Brooklyn, was set ablaze on September 26th. The family who lived there were awakened to smoke and flames in the middle of the night. Shatfiqul Islam who lives on the ground floor said that he heard his neighbors screaming "fire". He woke up his roommates then fled the building.
“We’re all outside, and then we see they’re on the roof. Like, six kids and a mother, they’re all on the roof, and father,” Shatfiqul Islam said. “They’re trying to throw the kids, and tell us, ‘Take them, take them.'”
Shatfiqul Islam said he and his roommates caught four of the kids and the parents jumped. Firefighters went into the home and rescued the other two kids.
“They were screaming,” neighbor Sahil Uddin said. “By the time really the kids got out, the whole house got smoked up right away. Couldn’t see nothing. It was really bad.”
After months of investigations, authorities found some surveillance video from the area that sparked their interest. The video showed an unidentified man wearing a mask and hood enter and leave the building where the fire took place before the 911 call was placed. Residents of the building told authorities that they'd had disagreements with their landlord and that he was the only one who could have done this.
FDNY said marshals spent a month conducting a video canvas to verify the suspect’s identity before allegedly finding an image of Islam with his hood and mask down.
Rafiqul Islam, 66, is facing eight counts of attempted murder, arson and assault, the New York City Fire Department said Friday. There is no known relation between the suspect and several of the victims.
Reports say that seven people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. The fire department said 60 fire and EMS personnel responded to the scene and it took an hour to get the fire under control.
