Hillsdale College source: Suspect in arson at school may be serial arsonist released after recent fire at DC Catholic church

Business owners in Washington, D.C., reportedly are frustrated at law enforcement after a suspect in several arson incidents was released without charges.

One of the arson incidents damaged the Kirby Center of Hillsdale College, and a source at the school told Blaze News that law enforcement said the fire might be related to an alleged serial arsonist who'd been released after a recent, separate incident.

'Arsonists are inherently dangerous individuals. If they're willing to commit property damage, then ostensibly they're willing to harm people.'

D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly told WRC-TV that dozens of fires have been reported in the past four months in the area.

"What we know is since the end of March, we've been investigating about 35 fires that look like they're related to somebody that is serial lighting fires," he added to the station.

A recent fire behind St. Joseph's Catholic Church on Second Street NE singed the brick of the building and significantly damaged a vehicle, Donnelly noted to WRC.

Police arrested Mohammad Al-Rashidi, 50, in May after firefighters said they witnessed him lighting a trash can on fire, the station said. Although Al-Rashidi spent a night in jail, Donnelly told WRC that prosecutors didn't believe they could get a conviction, so destruction of property charges were dropped.

Al-Rashidi, who is believed to be homeless, was released, the station said.

But officials believe he continued lighting fires in the area, and they allegedly are now looking to detain him. Multiple sources familiar with the investigation told WRC a judge signed a new arrest warrant for Al-Rashidi in connection with the church fire.

In fact, investigators told the station that Al-Rashidi is a suspect in four separate fires set Wednesday morning.

One of those fires damaged construction materials at Hillsdale College's Kirby Center. Blaze News spoke to a Hillsdale source who said fire officials told him they were looking for a serial arsonist in the case. The source also said officials described the man as homeless.

"It's an annoyance," the Hillsdale source told Blaze News, describing the aftermath as "a mess."

James McCrery, a business owner in the area, told Blaze News he's concerned law enforcement officials aren't taking the incidents seriously enough, after he heard the suspect had been previously released without charges.

"I've been working hard to express concern to law enforcement," McCrery told Blaze News. "Arsonists are inherently dangerous individuals. If they're willing to commit property damage, then ostensibly they're willing to harm people."

He added that releasing the suspect might not have been the "appropriate response" to the incidents — and told Blaze News he's spoken to other business owners who feel similarly.

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Chief Donnelly shared McCrery's concerns.

"My fear ... these fires are happening in the middle of the night," Donnelly told WRC. "They're happening in areas where they could grow. My fear is that one's going to extend to a house, and somebody's going to get hurt or lose their property. That's what our fear is, absolutely. This is a big problem."

However, D.C. Council member Charles Allen said in a statement to the station that officials are taking the incident seriously.

“There have been dozens of suspicious fires around Capitol Hill lately — ranging from small items burned on sidewalks to trash cans lit on fire in alleys to a detached garage burned down behind a home," he noted to WRC. "Fortunately, no one has been hurt so far, but I’m afraid it’s only a matter of time if the person responsible isn’t stopped soon. [Metropolitan Police] and [the Fire and EMS Department] are on the lookout and taking these suspicious fires seriously and treating them with the same urgency we all feel in the community.”

Security video of a man lighting a fire in a trash can be viewed on WRC's YouTube video.

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