Video shows suspects allegedly setting Los Angeles family’s home ablaze
By Jasmine Viel
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LOS ANGELES (KCAL, KCBS) — Robert and his wife purchased their home in the West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles less than two months ago. Now, they’re too scared to sleep there with their 9-month-old son after a horrifying situation unfolded on camera.
Early Thursday morning, Robert said he woke up to his wife telling him to call 911 after she’d gotten up to put their son back to sleep. He then discovered a raging inferno on their front porch.
“The front door was completely engulfed in flames, like an absolute raging fire,” he said. “All you could see was orange.”
He used a fire extinguisher that they’d kept in the home, and eventually a garden hose with the help of a neighbor, to fight the fire. When he went outside, he made a horrifying discovery.
“As soon as I turned the corner, I could see that there was two white buckets that had been spray-painted black, and I could smell gasoline. There were also a couple of rolls of toilet paper on the ground,” Robert said. “I knew immediately that somebody had set this fire.”
Security footage from a neighbor’s home showed two individuals running away from the scene after the porch went up in flames.
The Los Angeles Fire Department’s Arson Unit and the Los Angeles Police Department are investigating the situation. No suspects have been identified as of Friday evening.
Robert says he has no idea why anyone would target his home.
“It’s our first home, first-time homeowners,” he said. “Physically, we’re OK and we’re safe. Mentally, we’re in a pretty rough spot right now.”
A neighbor generously installed flood lights and security cameras at the home immediately after the fire, but Robert still doesn’t know when his family will return.
“It’s hard to imagine going to sleep here right now and feeling like we can trust that our son’s going to be safe and we’re going to be safe,” he said.
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