A man has been arrested days after allegedly setting fire to a California warehouse causing $500 million in damages. As reported by Fox 11 Los Angeles, he filmed the incident as he started the fire.
San Bernardino County native Chamel Abdulkarim was charged by federal prosecutors on Thursday, April 9. This comes as Abdulkarim, who is an employee of logistics provider NFI Industries, allegedly recorded himself berating his employers as he set fire to products in the factory.
The video, which was recorded on Tuesday, April 7, shows a man, alleged to be Abdulkarim, setting fire to pallets of paper. The man says "If you're not going to pay us enough to f****** live, or afford to live, at least pay us enough not to do this s***" before lighting the goods.
As well as this, the Justice Department has alleged that Abdulkarim sent texts boasting about what he had just allegedly done. One read "I just cost these f****** billions", with another reading "All you had to do was pay us enough to live... Didn't see the shareholders picking up a shift."
The fire was staggering in scale. Six alarms went off, and 175 firefighters were sent to the scene in order to fight the blaze.
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Investigators Have Not Yet Found a Motive
The video obviously sheds some light on why he could have set the fire. However, nothing has been confirmed as of yet by investigators. Investigators are working to analyze Abdulkarim's social media activity in order to find this out. But the things he said may be crucial in cracking this investigation.
Abdulkarim was arrested two miles from the scene. He has been charged with both federal and state charges. The DOJ has charged Abdulkarim with arson. Also, the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office has charged him with aggravated arson. On Monday, April 13, he will be arraigned on his state charges at the County Superior Court.
And, if he is convicted of his charges, he faces a pretty steep sentence. The federal charges alone carry a maximum term of 20 years in prison. But he may face life in prison if he is convicted of both charges.
