NYC Landlord Accused of Setting Building on Fire After Tenants Stopped Paying Rent & Refused To Move Out.
A landlord in Brooklyn, New York was arrested after allegedly setting one of his buildings ablaze with a family of his tenants inside earlier this year.
Rafiqul Islam, 66, is facing charges of attempted murder, arson, and assault, the New York City Fire Department announced on Friday.
Allegedly angry that his tenants had stopped paying rent and refused to move out, the landlord set fire to the stairs of the two-story building on Sept. 26, the department said.
Two adults and six children were home at the time, and escaped by climbing to the roof, where they were able to jump to the ground. Islam had threatened his tenants prior to the blaze—first warning that he would cut off the building’s gas and electricity, and then announcing he’d set the home on fire if the rent wasn’t paid, local station WPIX reported, citing officials.
“When the fire first started people speculated it was him,” a neighbor told CBS New York. “I just see him usually just walking around, going house to house to the houses that he owns, but I’m just shocked that he got arrested.”
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