According to court filings, a 73-year-old Miami man is suspected of shooting one employee at the apartment complex where he works and purposefully sparking a fire that swiftly spreads throughout the complex.
Francis Suarez, the mayor of Miami, said that the fire at Temple Court Apartments was reported at 8:15 a.m. ET on Monday. Approximately eight hours were spent fighting the fire by more than 125 firemen, he stated at a press conference on Monday night following the suspect’s capture.
Inside the building, first responders discovered a guy who had been shot. According to officials, he was taken to a nearby hospital suffering from a serious gunshot wound to the torso.
The manager of the facility, Atlantic Housing Foundation, stated that it was “shocked and saddened” by the fire and shooting and that the victim is an employee of the complex.
According to an arrest affidavit, Juan Francisco Figueroa, an apartment building occupant, was taken into custody in relation to the shooting and fire.
During a hearing on Tuesday, he was ordered to be kept without bond while facing many charges, including attempted felony murder, first-degree arson, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to online court documents. Details about the attorney were not immediately available.
According to an arrest affidavit, Figueroa was allegedly observed fleeing the scene on the morning of the shooting by a building resident.
The affidavit states that after hearing gunshots, a different tenant left his unit and discovered the victim, who was on the first floor and had a gunshot wound, referring to Figueroa by his apartment number. The affidavit stated that the resident also saw a “explosion” after the gunfire.
According to the complaint, Figueroa was allegedly caught carrying a pistol when detectives pulled over his automobile at 4 p.m. ET. According to the affidavit, he told investigators that he “knew what he had done and expected to be in prison for the rest of his life.”
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According to Suarez, the three-alarm fire was the first of that severity in the city in 25 years. According to the mayor, responding firefighters saved over forty people, some of whom were rescued from their balconies, and their actions were deemed “heroic.”
According to him, firefighters carried out seven ladder rescues.
According to Lt. Pete Sanchez, a spokesman for Miami Fire-Rescue, firefighters found the fire on the third story of the apartment complex.
The wood-frame building “explains the intensity and the rapid spread of the fire,” the speaker stated.
According to Suarez, every resident of the building—the majority of whom are elderly—has been verified. The investigation into what started the fire is still ongoing.
According to Sanchez, three firefighters were sent in stable condition to a nearby hospital for additional assessment. Since then, two have been freed, he added on Monday afternoon. According to Sanchez, a resident who had inhaled smoke was also taken to a hospital.
According to the mayor, the property management business is reserving a hotel for the next two weeks to accommodate the 43 people who were forced to flee the fire.
The Atlantic Housing Foundation released a statement saying, “We are still determining the cause of these events, and we are checking for other injuries. Police are investigating, and we will help in whatever ways we can.”
