The NYPD is looking for a man caught in video illuminating a gasoline fire outside a Bronx apartment building early Tuesday morning.
The footage shows a man in a hooded jacket sets the fire and quickly expands the sidewalk at Rochambaw Avenue in the Norwood section of the Bronx.
The suspect casually approaches the building with a push cart before walking backwards while pouring liquid along the sidewalk. Videos obtained by ABC 7 show.
Arsonists, who are said to give in, light the liquid and quickly return to prevent them from getting caught up. He then leaves as casually as he approaches.
Shortly afterwards, two men ran out of a passing car to extinguish the flames. Those men then drive without warning anyone or calling the fire department.
Katrina Kanaj, whose family owns a six-storey apartment, said she realized what happened when her tenants were sleeping in the fire and checked surveillance footage after finding burn marks on the sidewalk.
“I saw the black spots,” Karnaj told ABC7. “I rewind the camera. I saw the flames. I panicked. My heart came out of my chest. “What's going on?”
“I'm not going to sleep tonight because maybe he left the building, or one of the tenants left the building and this guy came back,” Curanaj said.
“Remember the incident in which a girl was burned on a train by someone throwing gas at her? She added, referring to a homeless woman who was allegedly burned on a subway train by illegal immigrants in December.
According to ABC7, a bottle of liquid was found in the red bag left by the suspect.
The NYPD is looking for suspects as an investigation is underway. The firefighter has also been warned that the potential arsonist is still loosened.
