Benjamin Carroll

‘Trying to Kill Us': Arsonist Sets Lobby of Building Ablaze as Residents Slept

Nobody was hurt when the arsonist set the fire inside the building on Bailey Avenue in Kingsbridge

What to Know

  • An arsonist was caught on video lighting a fire inside the entrance of an apartment building in the Bronx early Sunday
  • No injuries nor severe damage was reported in the intentionally set fire on Bailey Avenue in Kingsbrige, the FDNY said
  • No arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing

A man set the inside of a Bronx apartment building ablaze early Sunday, igniting a fireball in the vestibule as many residents were sound asleep, officials say.

Nobody was hurt when the arsonist set a fire inside the entrance of the building on Bailey Avenue in Kingsbridge -- a 67-apartment structure with around 300 residents -- around 2:30 a.m. Some residents, though, are fearful the unknown man may come back to finish the job. 

“They need to catch him. Police have to look at all the cameras around here,” Gigi Rivas, who lives in the building, said. “They’re trying to kill us.”

Jarring video shows a man who appears to be wearing a mask deliberately dousing the outer lobby with some sort of flammable liquid, before intentionally lighting it up.

The super of the building said he smelled the smoke and called 911, but by then the man had taken off. He left behind a water jug. There was no severe damage to the building.

“Whoever did this has a personal vendetta with somebody in the building because he did take his sweet time,” Liza Irizarry said.

No arrests have been made. The investigation is ongoing.

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