Man set fire to car in garage, locked 2 firefighters in home in Auburn Gresham, police say
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Two firefighters were held at knifepoint in Auburn Gresham this week – and police said it all started when a man set a fire to lure first responders to the scene.
When firefighters arrived, the arsonist held them hostage and threatened to kill them.
As CBS 2's Sabrina Franza reported, it all happened around noon Tuesday near 77th Street and Marshfield Avenue. The garage and a vehicle inside were destroyed by fire – and authorities said the property was booby-trapped.
Two firefighters were held hostage at knifepoint in the basement of the home in front of the garage.
A man first set fire to the car in his garage, luring two members of the Chicago Fire Department to respond, police said. The man went on to lock the firefighters inside the house, which smelled of gasoline.
Other firefighters responded. A bird's-eye view was caught on cellphone video.
"It was like a movie," a neighbor said. "It was so many policemen, firefighters."
The neighbor, who asked us to hide her identity, took a video from outside the front of the home – a bungalow with a detached garage.
"No one even lives there, so I don't even know how he got in there," the neighbor said.
The person police said was behind the crime was in custody Wednesday. It was not his first run-in with the law, police said.
"I never seen anything like that in my life," the neighbor said.
Sources told CBS 2 the man was arrested in connection to a murder in 2005.
The man's name has been withheld while police pursue charges.
"It's terrible. It's very devastating," the neighbor said. "This is too close to home."
We do not know the identity of the firefighters who were locked in the home. We only know they were both rescued by their own fellow firefighters and were uninjured.
A city building inspector is set to come to assess the damage at the property.
The fire department did not respond to requests for comment.
As of late Wednesday, there were still no charges in the case.
