Alleged Arsonist Fights Off Firefighters After Setting Pinkberry Building Ablaze, Killing One
According to the NYPD, a 45-year-old man set a massive fire above a Pinkberry yogurt shop in Manhattan's Nolita neighborhood Thursday night, leaving one dead and several injured. Police believe the man, Wei Chu Wu, started the fire after fighting with his child's mother, who lives on the building's second floor.
Witnesses say Wu fought emergency responders as they arrived on the scene, attempting to prevent first responders from entering the burning building. Wu was subdued, but not until a police officer broke his hand during the brawl. Seven firefighters were also treated for injuries, although it wasn't clear if they were hurt in the fire or during the fight.
The New York Post reports Wu confessed to police at the scene.
Wu told investigators that he "was pissed at his wife, thought she was cheating," a law enforcement source told The Post today.
Wu later "showed no remorse for the fire," the source said.
Through a translator, Wu told authorities, "I burned down a building," according to a source.
Wu, who, by the incident's end, was shoeless and wearing a blood-soaked shirt, was arrested a taken to New York Downtown Hospital with bruises. He was charged with murder, arson and attempted assault on Friday.
After the fire was extinguished, police found a body "burned beyond recognition." Because of the extent of the injuries, authorities have yet to determine the victim's identity. The building was "essentially destroyed," according to James Esposito, chief of operations for the Fire Department.