In Miami-Dade County, Florida, authorities arrested a 46-year-old man on Wednesday. He was charged with six counts of attempted murder for allegedly starting a fire at a Walgreens store in the northwest Miami-Dade area earlier this week.
According to an arrest report from the Miami-Dade Police Department, the fire took place a little after 6 p.m. on Monday at the Walgreens located at 9498 NW Seventh Ave. in the Pinewood neighborhood of the county.
The man, known as Felix Hidalgo, reportedly became aggressive and hostile when he came to pick up what he believed was his prescription from the pharmacy. He demanded the pharmacy technician to give him his prescription and accused them of playing games.
Records showed that Hidalgo’s prescription was actually at a store in Miami Beach. Despite being told to communicate calmly, Hidalgo continued to be confrontational. He even threatened to set the store on fire and expressed a desire for it to explode.
After the pharmacy manager requested help dealing with Hidalgo’s behavior, the pharmacy technician noticed that aisle nine was on fire when she returned. The store staff evacuated the building.
“While the fire was ongoing, the technician observed Hidalgo taking items from the store’s makeup aisle,” the police report explained. “She informed Hidalgo that he needed to leave due to the fire. He grabbed a blanket with items and fled.”
Subsequently, on Wednesday, business owners in the Allapattah neighborhood informed a Miami police officer about a man, later identified as Hidalgo, throwing rocks. Hidalgo already had an active warrant for a probation violation and had a history of arrests in Miami-Dade County.
Hidalgo reportedly continued to make threats in the presence of officers, including expressing a desire to “ignite the airport” after leaving the Miami-Dade Police Department’s headquarters. He repeatedly stated to the investigating officer that he intended to harm others.
Law enforcement took Hidalgo, who was homeless, into custody and brought him to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. In addition to the attempted murder charges, he was accused of arson, criminal mischief, and petty theft.
Jail records indicated that he was held without bail due to the probation violation, which originated from an armed robbery charge.
