NEW YORK — An arsonist is currently being sought in the Bronx after authorities say six cars and the front door of an apartment building were deliberately set on fire.
Police said it was just before 2 a.m. Tuesday when FDNY members responded to the burned vehicles. A block away, the NYPD K9 Unit investigated the door fire.
The man police are looking for is seen on surveillance footage setting fire to a door on East 174th Street in Soundview.
“I smelled a really strong odor of smoke and I thought, ‘Oh my God, something is burning,’” said resident Alice Solano.
According to authorities, a two-month-old child inhaled smoke in an apartment.
Neighbors woke up to a charred mess. Police said the same suspect set fire to a half-dozen cars on a street just a block away. Amadu Bah owns one of them.
“I can’t believe what I’m seeing here because the car was in good condition,” Bah said. “Someone poured gasoline on them and set them on fire. It was a disaster when I saw it. It was heartbreaking.”
“I’ve never seen anything like this”
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the New York City Fire Department responded to the scene Tuesday afternoon. They confirmed that someone had used gasoline to set fire to the cars, including a white sedan owned by Gemm Carlos, a driver for Taxi and Limousine Commissioner who is now unemployed.
“I feel bad. I lost my car and my documents,” Carlos said.
Local residents were shocked by the incidents.
“I’ve been here for seven years. I’ve never seen anything like this,” said restaurant owner Carmen Baez.
The fire brigade assumes that the fires were started deliberately and is now trying to determine the motive.
Naveen Dhaliwal
