The landlord set fire to the apartment with the tenants inside: they stopped paying for it (3 photos)

A shocking story took place in Brooklyn, New York. A 66-year-old rental property owner was angry that his tenants had stopped paying rent but refused to move out. He is accused of setting fire to the stairs while his enemies - two adults and six children - were on the second floor.





The accused is Rafiqul Islam, 66 years old.

According to an eyewitness (his name is Shatfiqul Islam - perhaps he is a relative of the accused), who lives on the second floor of this house, he and his roommates woke up around five in the morning from shouts of “fire” and ran out of the building.

“We all went outside and then we saw that they were on the roof. Six children and a mother and father, they are all on the roof,” Shatfikul said in an interview with reporters. “They try to throw the children down and shout to us: ‘Catch them, catch them.’”



Shatfiqul said he and his roommates caught the four children, after which their parents also jumped down. Then firefighters arrived - they entered the building and saved the two remaining children.

“They were screaming,” said another neighbor, Sahil Uddin. “By the time the children got out, the whole house was already smoking.”

Seven people were hospitalized with minor injuries.



Firefighters spent about a month conducting a video search of the building at 212 Forbell St, where the incident occurred on September 26, before finding an image of Rafiqul without a mask or hood.

Last Friday, Rafiqul was charged with eight counts of attempted murder, arson and assault, the New York City Fire Department said. He is under arrest. It also turned out that the owner of the house had previously voiced threats to set fire to the building if the residents did not pay. He also warned that he would cut off electricity and gas.