A New York landlord took matters into his own hands and is now facing eight counts of attempted murder after setting fire to a unit with tenants, including children, inside.
Rafiqul Islam, 66, was arrested on Oct. 25 according to jail records and the NYPD, regarding the incident on Sep. 26.
Islam set fire to the second floor apartment in a Brooklyn building because he was angry that the tenants quit paying their rent.
According to the New York Fire Department, there were 6 adults and 2 children in the unit and were luckily able to escape the fire that Islam had supposedly set to an interior staircase.
Islam is also facing charges of second-degree arson, reckless endangerment, and criminal mischief.
An officer said, “Prior to the fire, Islam had threatened the tenants that he would cut off their electricity and gas for the unit. He then proceeded to threaten them that he would set it on fire if they did not pay him. He was tired of coming up with no money and paying out of his own pocket for the utilities.”
Apparently, Islam had filed a civil case against Adriana Edwards on September 27, claiming that she owed him $26,592. Edwards was the occupant of the second floor of the address.
In a counterclaim statement filed on Oct. 26, Edwards’ lawyer claimed that she and her family were driven from the subject premises by a fire, which rendered the unit uninhabitable.
The counterclaim also mentioned that the unit was infested with mice and roaches, had lead in a wall, had windows that would not close, and also had water damage amongst a slew of other issues that constitutes a breach of warranty of habitability.
Investigators were able to identify Islam through security footage in the area during their nearly month-long investigation.
“When the fire first started people speculated it was him,” one neighbor said. “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.”
