A Texas family is taking turns staying awake at night after frightening security footage showed someone trying to set their home on fire.
On Tuesday, Aug. 12, around 1 a.m., most of the Wilson family — six adults and two children — were asleep inside their home in Midlothian when a stranger poured gasoline on the property and lit it, according to CBS News.
Video shared by Fox 4 News shows a hooded person spreading fuel around the front door, windows, and garage before setting the fire and running away.
Darryl Wilson’s daughter, 21-year-old Malia Wilson, happened to still be awake while home from college on summer break. Her room sits above the garage, and she noticed the motion-activated lights turn on. When she went downstairs, she saw flames outside the living room window. She quickly woke her dad and called 911.
Darryl, 52, told CBS News, “She came running in there, and she said, ‘The house is on fire.’ I looked at her. I said, ‘Okay, I’m dreaming.’ I laid back down. She grabbed me — ‘No. No. The house is on fire.’”
His wife, Wahsheida Wilson, was stunned when she later saw the suspect on their security footage. “I was shocked. I’m like, this can’t be real. Who would do this? Like, we keep to ourselves,” she told the outlet.
Darryl at first tried to fight the flames with cups of water and then pots, before firefighters arrived. Thankfully, no one was injured.
Their oldest daughter, 25-year-old Mylah Rivera, shared screenshots and video of the incident in a Facebook group, asking people to spread the word so they could identify the suspect. “I wouldn’t wish this on anyone,” she told CBS News. “I have a 1-year-old daughter. … What if my sister wasn’t up and witnessed this and it would have got worse, you know?”
Now, the family says they no longer feel safe in their own home. Wahsheida explained that they are taking shifts to stay awake during the night. “We’re on rotation, just staying up at night. Looking out the windows, looking on the camera. Someone sleeps, someone gets up to be on watch,” she said, per CBS News.
Darryl told Fox 4 that his family is planning to move. “My kids don’t want to stay. My wife doesn’t want to stay. You know, they’re traumatized. It’s a hurting thing for someone to come to my home and do that. And I feel helpless as a father.”
The Midlothian Police Department is investigating the incident as arson, according to Fox 4 News. The Wilsons say they do not recognize the suspect in the video.
