6 cars and front door set on fire by suspected Bronx arsonist
NEW YORK -- A search for an arsonist is underway in the Bronx, after officials say six cars were intentionally set on fire, along with an apartment building front door.
Police said it was just before 2 a.m. on Tuesday when members of the FDNY responded to the burned vehicles. A block over, the NYPD K9 Unit investigated the door fire.
The man police are looking for was seen on surveillance video igniting the door on East 174th Street in Soundview.
"I was smelling really harsh, harsh smoke and I said, 'Oh my God, something is burning,'" resident Alice Solano said.
Inside an apartment, a 2-month-old child suffered smoke inhalation, officials said.
Neighbors woke up to a charred mess. Police said that same suspect burned a half-dozen cars on a street just a block away. Amadu Bah owns one of them.
"I can't believe what I see here because the car was in good condition," Bah said. "Somebody was pouring gasoline and light fire on them. It was a disaster when I see it. It was heartbreaking."
"I've never seen nothing like this"
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and New York City fire marshals responded to the scene Tuesday afternoon. They confirmed someone used gasoline to light the cars on fire, including a white sedan that belongs to Gemm Carlos, a Taxi and Limousine Commissioner driver who is now out of work.
"I'm feeling bad. I lost my car, my documents," Carlos said.
Area residents were perplexed by the incidents.
"I've been here seven years. I've never seen nothing like this," restaurant owner Carmen Baez said.
With fire officials ruling the fires as arson, they are now trying to determine a motive.