A 14-year-old in Florida is accused of setting a house on fire while a family of four slept inside — and investigators say he admitted the blaze was meant to kill his friend.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) and the Lehigh Acres Fire Department responded to a report of a residential fire on the 300 block of Paisley Avenue in Lehigh Acres at around 6 a.m. local time on Saturday, Jan. 3, according to a Facebook post from the LCSO shared Monday, Jan. 5.
When deputies arrived, they found an open 5-gallon propane tank near the front door, along with what authorities described as a “homemade Molotov cocktail,” according to the post. The sheriff’s office said the four people inside were able to climb out through a window and escape without injuries.
Investigators later interviewed witnesses who reported seeing the teen parked down the street. Authorities said he briefly approached the victims to ask what had happened, then left the area.
The teen was arrested at his home, where deputies say he admitted to bringing the propane tank, using a gas-filled bottle to ignite the fire, and trying to kill someone inside the Paisley Avenue home. The sheriff’s office said the intended target was a teenage friend who lived there.
He was charged with four counts of attempted felony murder, arson, occupied burglary, making a destructive device, and possession or use of a weapon, according to the LCSO. Authorities said he was released to the Department of Juvenile Justice for secure detention.
The LCSO’s Facebook post also includes body-camera video showing deputies and firefighters responding to the scene, including footage of the propane tank and the home’s burned front door.
Namiry Enrique Alvarez, who was inside the home with three family members, told local outlet 13 News that the experience was “traumatic.”
“Even now, two days later, I still can’t sleep, and neither can they because you relive everything that happened, and you’re afraid it’s going to happen again, which keeps you from sleeping,” she said through a translator.
Alvarez said she and her relatives escaped through a window because the fire blocked the front entrance. She added that none of the four suffered injuries.
According to the outlet, Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said investigators were told the teen started the fire to try to kill Alvarez’s son.
“This is a juvenile that’s committing a tremendous, horrifying act — trying to kill four people in a residence. It’s sad to me that things got this way, but I’m very thankful that the result is nobody’s hurt, and our suspect is off the streets and charged,” Marceno said.
