Officials are now pursuing several criminal charges against Mr. Islam.
A New York City landlord has been charged with eight counts of attempted murder after allegedly setting fire to one of his buildings in a dispute with a tenant over unpaid rent. According to HuffPostThe man, identified as 66-year-old Rafiqul Islam, was arrested last month for allegedly setting a fire in his own building in Brooklyn, where a family with six children were tenants. In a Facebook post, the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) said it was angry because the family had stopped paying rent and refused to move.
“FDNY Fire Marshals have made an arrest in an arson case involving a landlord. Investigators say Rafiqul Islam was angry that his second-floor tenant stopped paying rent and refused to move, so he set fire to an interior staircase at 212 Forbell Street in Brooklyn. Two adults and six children were home at the time of the fire and escaped,” officials said Friday.
According to the FDNY, the fire victims revealed that Mr. Islam had threatened to cut off their gas and electricity supplies and burn down the house if the family of eight, who lived on the second floor, did not come up with the rent money.
Investigators conducted a four-week investigation and found video evidence of the day Mr. Islam, wearing a mask and hood, entered the home and left shortly before the first 911 call. They also found an image showing the mask and hood down.
According to the fire brigade, the fire started in an interior staircase of the building. According to the New York Post, the family of eight was home when the place went up in flames, but they all managed to escape safely. The parents reportedly threw two children into the arms of neighbors on the ground. The remaining two children were carried outside by firefighters while the parents jumped from the roof.
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Islam reportedly filed a civil suit against a resident on the second floor of the address a day after the fire, claiming she owed him $26,592. A counterclaim was then filed by the resident a month later, alleging that she and her family had been “evicted from the subject property by a fire.” The lawsuit also alleged several conditions that had made the apartment habitable, including an infestation of mice and cockroaches, as well as water damage and the presence of lead pain.
The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office is now pursuing several criminal charges against Mr. Islam.
