Multiple cars set on fire in Bolderāja — suspect released within an hour
Multiple vehicles caught fire almost simultaneously in Bolderāja. The State Police have initiated two criminal proceedings and are calling on residents to provide information.
Multiple cars catch fire at night in Bolderāja — cameras record arsonists
Google News LV — Crime reports that in the Riga microdistrict of Bolderāja, multiple vehicles caught fire almost simultaneously, and the incident was captured on both security cameras and in videos taken by residents on mobile phones.
In a TikTok video, two vehicles can be seen on the edge of Lielupe Street engulfed in flames. It might appear that one of the vehicles experienced a short circuit and the fire spread to the other, but several hundred metres away in the courtyard of a multi-storey building, there was yet another burnt-out metal wreck.
"I saw them extinguishing it at night, at 2 a.m. [...] I simply went to the toilet and saw it. I didn't see it burning. I saw them extinguishing it, and that was it," says a resident of the building.
Multiple simultaneous fires suggest that accident can be ruled out. One resident who arrived at the house also had their car damaged by an arsonist's hand.
"Neighbours from the fifth floor woke us up. We were just sleeping at that time, then we ran outside and drove away in the car. Good that you lost so little. Only the back — we managed to drive away in time," says the owner of the burnt "Audi".
According to him, the fire was set to the vehicles by a local Bolderāja resident. Shortly before the series of fires, a conflict had taken place near the house, which was also captured by surveillance cameras: "This man with a knife — he hit the tyre, cut it with a knife. Then the police arrived, they took him to the police station, and literally after an hour or an hour and a half they released him, and literally after that everything suddenly burst into flames."
In the cameras, visible in the night darkness, is a person in white clothing approaching a vehicle past trees, then throwing a burning object in its direction — the car bursts into flames immediately. The scale of the fire is evidenced by burnt tree leaves reaching up to the fourth-floor height. A bus that had been filled with construction materials also turned into a firebomb. Firefighters extinguished the flames over an area of 25 square metres.
State Police representative Gita Gžibovska announced that two criminal proceedings have been initiated in connection with the incident: "They are qualified under Article 185, Section 2 of the Criminal Law — for intentional destruction or damage to another's property, if committed by burning. For such an offence, the law provides for deprivation of liberty for up to 10 years and probation supervision for up to three years or without it."
The identity of the arsonist is currently being established by the State Police. Eyewitnesses who have information useful for the investigation are urged to call telephone number 25496866 or 112.
Source: Google News LV — Crime (lv)