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American Morning
Authorities in Washington D.C. Area Searching for Serial Arsonist
Aired July 07, 2003 - 08:16 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Authorities in the Washington, D.C. area now searching for a serial arsonist who might be responsible for setting about two dozen fires there. Five blazes so far have been conclusively linked with one another. The others are considered suspicious. They're right now being investigated, too.
Patty Davis outside the home of a woman who died in one of those fires there -- Patty, good morning.
PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
Well, authorities have not yet conclusively linked this fire to the work of that serial arsonist, but they do have their suspicions.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVIS (voice-over): A serial arsonist is suspected of deliberately setting as many as 29 fires in Washington, D.C. and nearby Prince Georges County, Maryland.
CARLOS DAVIS, NEIGHBOR: That night we were awakened by the loudest scream I'd ever heard.
DAVIS: One of those fires June 5th killed 86-year-old Lou Edna Jones, known as Mama Lou to neighbors like Carlos and Cheryl Davis. The screams from her granddaughter, who got out in time.
CHERYL DAVIS, NEIGHBOR: There was nothing to compare to what we saw standing on our front yard, the amount of fire and how quickly it engulfed the top of the house.
DAVIS: Authorities say an arsonist doused Jones' front door with a flammable liquid, a common threat in these fires. The arsonist has struck in the middle of the night when people are asleep. Like the sniper attacks last fall, some residents are terrified they could be next.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm just shaking inside. I'm just a nervous wreck.
MAJ. VICTOR STAGNARD, PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY FIRE/EMS: I would say that the citizens are certainly being terrorized, in a sense, that they are fearful.
DAVIS: A task force of local and federal experts is investigating. Five fires have been conclusively linked. Seventeen have been ruled similar in nature and seven others are being investigated. Now, the FBI is creating a profile of the arsonist.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Much like with the sniper case, there's going to be something that's going to turn up and they will be able to find the person and, I think, we'll all sleep better.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DAVIS: A makeshift memorial is set up here outside Mama Lou's house. Her daughters, speaking to us this morning, say they plan to hold candlelight vigils once a month at the very least until the person who caused this fire, started this fire, is caught -- Bill.
HEMMER: Patty Davis, thanks, live in D.C.
Ronald Blackwell is chief of the Prince Georges County Fire & Emergency Medical Services Department. He's with us now for more on the arson investigation.
Chief, good morning to you down there in Washington.
CHIEF RONALD BLACKWELL, PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY FIRE & EMS DEPARTMENT: Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: I understand you have told residents on what they can do to make their home less of a potential threat or target. What are you telling them to do at home at night?
BLACKWELL: Well, we've asked people to, once again, install smoke alarms and to put together an evacuation plan that would provide for two ways out of every room in the structure. In addition...
HEMMER: What about lights on on the porch, things like that?
BLACKWELL: Well, lights on the porch, we believe, would certainly be helpful, but what perhaps would be more important than anything in this case would be information from people in those affected areas. We think that perhaps someone has seen or heard something that they didn't think was important on the night of the fire, and we're encouraging them to get back with us on one of our tip lines.
HEMMER: Sir, how were you able to connect these fires thus far, based on evidence?
BLACKWELL: Well, there has been some physical evidence that has been gathered, as well as information gathered through interviews and, in some cases, through the tips line that has put us in a position where we believe five of these fires could be conclusively linked. Four of those occurred in Prince Georges County and one of those in the District of Columbia.
HEMMER: Yes, are you willing to share that evidence with us?
BLACKWELL: Well, not at this time. What we want to do is to be really careful about what we have and what we know in order to protect the integrity of our investigation. HEMMER: Your department put out a sketch of a person you believe may have been a witness. Do you believe this person is more than that, more than a witness?
BLACKWELL: Well, actually the sketch was put out by the Metropolitan Police Department. What we believe is that the individual may have some information that would be critical as we work to get the crime solved.
HEMMER: Do you think you're dealing with one person here or is this a group of people, do you know?
BLACKWELL: At this point it is really difficult to know. It is, perhaps, a person or perhaps a group of people.
HEMMER: You know, what are people telling you who live there, go to bed at night, they say what?
BLACKWELL: Well, I think that there is some concern, great concern, and it's a concern that we in public safety share. We've got a group of very talented investigators from the Prince Georges County Fire & EMS Department, from the District of Columbia Fire Department, as well as law enforcement officials from the ATF, from the Metropolitan Police and the Prince Georges County Police that are working really hard at trying to get this thing solved.
HEMMER: It sounds like you've got a lot of help out there.
Quickly, you say in 30 years of service, you've never seen anything like this before. Why are these cases so unique?
BLACKWELL: Well, the uniqueness, in my mind, has to do with the number of fires in such a short period of time. That combined with the fact that these are occurring in occupied structures has caused me some sleepless nights.
HEMMER: Good luck, Chief.
Thanks for talking with us.
Ronald Blackwell down there in Washington.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Arsonist>
Aired July 7, 2003 - 08:16 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Authorities in the Washington, D.C. area now searching for a serial arsonist who might be responsible for setting about two dozen fires there. Five blazes so far have been conclusively linked with one another. The others are considered suspicious. They're right now being investigated, too.
Patty Davis outside the home of a woman who died in one of those fires there -- Patty, good morning.
PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
Well, authorities have not yet conclusively linked this fire to the work of that serial arsonist, but they do have their suspicions.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVIS (voice-over): A serial arsonist is suspected of deliberately setting as many as 29 fires in Washington, D.C. and nearby Prince Georges County, Maryland.
CARLOS DAVIS, NEIGHBOR: That night we were awakened by the loudest scream I'd ever heard.
DAVIS: One of those fires June 5th killed 86-year-old Lou Edna Jones, known as Mama Lou to neighbors like Carlos and Cheryl Davis. The screams from her granddaughter, who got out in time.
CHERYL DAVIS, NEIGHBOR: There was nothing to compare to what we saw standing on our front yard, the amount of fire and how quickly it engulfed the top of the house.
DAVIS: Authorities say an arsonist doused Jones' front door with a flammable liquid, a common threat in these fires. The arsonist has struck in the middle of the night when people are asleep. Like the sniper attacks last fall, some residents are terrified they could be next.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm just shaking inside. I'm just a nervous wreck.
MAJ. VICTOR STAGNARD, PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY FIRE/EMS: I would say that the citizens are certainly being terrorized, in a sense, that they are fearful.
DAVIS: A task force of local and federal experts is investigating. Five fires have been conclusively linked. Seventeen have been ruled similar in nature and seven others are being investigated. Now, the FBI is creating a profile of the arsonist.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Much like with the sniper case, there's going to be something that's going to turn up and they will be able to find the person and, I think, we'll all sleep better.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DAVIS: A makeshift memorial is set up here outside Mama Lou's house. Her daughters, speaking to us this morning, say they plan to hold candlelight vigils once a month at the very least until the person who caused this fire, started this fire, is caught -- Bill.
HEMMER: Patty Davis, thanks, live in D.C.
Ronald Blackwell is chief of the Prince Georges County Fire & Emergency Medical Services Department. He's with us now for more on the arson investigation.
Chief, good morning to you down there in Washington.
CHIEF RONALD BLACKWELL, PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY FIRE & EMS DEPARTMENT: Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: I understand you have told residents on what they can do to make their home less of a potential threat or target. What are you telling them to do at home at night?
BLACKWELL: Well, we've asked people to, once again, install smoke alarms and to put together an evacuation plan that would provide for two ways out of every room in the structure. In addition...
HEMMER: What about lights on on the porch, things like that?
BLACKWELL: Well, lights on the porch, we believe, would certainly be helpful, but what perhaps would be more important than anything in this case would be information from people in those affected areas. We think that perhaps someone has seen or heard something that they didn't think was important on the night of the fire, and we're encouraging them to get back with us on one of our tip lines.
HEMMER: Sir, how were you able to connect these fires thus far, based on evidence?
BLACKWELL: Well, there has been some physical evidence that has been gathered, as well as information gathered through interviews and, in some cases, through the tips line that has put us in a position where we believe five of these fires could be conclusively linked. Four of those occurred in Prince Georges County and one of those in the District of Columbia.
HEMMER: Yes, are you willing to share that evidence with us?
BLACKWELL: Well, not at this time. What we want to do is to be really careful about what we have and what we know in order to protect the integrity of our investigation. HEMMER: Your department put out a sketch of a person you believe may have been a witness. Do you believe this person is more than that, more than a witness?
BLACKWELL: Well, actually the sketch was put out by the Metropolitan Police Department. What we believe is that the individual may have some information that would be critical as we work to get the crime solved.
HEMMER: Do you think you're dealing with one person here or is this a group of people, do you know?
BLACKWELL: At this point it is really difficult to know. It is, perhaps, a person or perhaps a group of people.
HEMMER: You know, what are people telling you who live there, go to bed at night, they say what?
BLACKWELL: Well, I think that there is some concern, great concern, and it's a concern that we in public safety share. We've got a group of very talented investigators from the Prince Georges County Fire & EMS Department, from the District of Columbia Fire Department, as well as law enforcement officials from the ATF, from the Metropolitan Police and the Prince Georges County Police that are working really hard at trying to get this thing solved.
HEMMER: It sounds like you've got a lot of help out there.
Quickly, you say in 30 years of service, you've never seen anything like this before. Why are these cases so unique?
BLACKWELL: Well, the uniqueness, in my mind, has to do with the number of fires in such a short period of time. That combined with the fact that these are occurring in occupied structures has caused me some sleepless nights.
HEMMER: Good luck, Chief.
Thanks for talking with us.
Ronald Blackwell down there in Washington.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Arsonist>
