Police: Failed Suicide Attempt Caused Roxbury Explosion, Fire
BOSTON (CBS) – Police say a failed suicide attempt caused an explosion and 6-alarm fire early Monday morning that left more than a dozen people hurt in Roxbury and led to several dramatic rescues.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Karen Twomey reports
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Witnesses heard an explosion in the apartment building on Wardman Road just before the fire started around 1 a.m.
WBZ-TV's Jim Smith reports
Firefighters saved about 15 people, including a 6-year-old boy who was dropped from a third-floor apartment into the arms of a firefighter.
Ten residents, two firefighters and one police officer were taken to hospitals, most to be treated for smoke inhalation.
Investigators say 28-year-old Mohamed Abdul Jabar of Medford walked into Boston Medical Center with third-degree burns and confessed that he started the fire by tampering with a gas line.
He was charged with arson and attempted murder. He is now being treated in the burn unit at Massachusetts General Hospital.
He has second-degree burns to his arms, hands and face, but police say his injuries are "non-life threatening."
Police said Abdul Jabar does not live in the building but he may have been in a relative's apartment.
More than 20 apartments were damaged or destroyed.
