Background: The Louisville, Ky., home where the fire broke out (Michael Ray/WLKY/YouTube). Inset: Abdulkhaliq Al-Mousa (Louisville Metro Government).
A Kentucky man is facing an arson charge after authorities say he set fire to his own Louisville home with an oil-soaked rag, then told firefighters who arrived at the scene to “let it go.”
Abdulkhaliq Al-Mousa, 49, was charged with second-degree arson, according to jail records reviewed by Law&Crime. He was taken into custody and booked at the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections.
The fire erupted Monday in a Louisville, Kentucky, neighborhood, where residents were jolted by the sight of flames coming from a nearby house.
Al-Mousa owned the property, and neighbors had reportedly raised concerns about him before the fire.
Michael Ray told local CBS affiliate WLKY that he spotted the flames and immediately called 911.
“I saw the fire in the garage and him standing maybe 15 feet in front of me, and I go, ‘Dude, did you just start that fire?’ And he looked at me and said, ‘Yes,’” Ray recalled.
An arrest citation alleges Al-Mousa used an oil-soaked rag attached to a stick to ignite the fire inside the home, including in the garage. Afterward, authorities say, he walked across the street, lay down and watched as the blaze spread. Video recorded by Ray showed Louisville firefighters battling heavy flames in the garage.
“Let it go,” the defendant reportedly told the firefighters.
City records reviewed by the TV station show Al-Mousa was reported 15 times over the past two years for incidents including erratic behavior, trash in the yard, and rodents.
“He had a blowtorch walking through the house, a live chainsaw through the house, he’s in his front and back yard with a sword,” Ray said.
Al-Mousa had reportedly been jailed before on domestic violence charges. A judge released him and ordered him to get mental health treatment, but he apparently didn’t — and he kept living in his home, per WLKY. His estranged wife said she tried to get him mental health support, but to no avail.
Al-Mousa was set to be arraigned Wednesday morning.
The post ‘Dude, did you just start that fire?’: Man used oil-soaked rag to light house blaze, then told firefighters to ‘let it go’ while he lay down and watched, cops say first appeared on Law & Crime.
