Tragedy struck in New Braunfels when a 37-year-old man, Kennedy Miguel Herrejon, was found dead following a house fire that investigators believe was "intentionally set." The New Braunfels Fire Department responded to the emergency call around 2:30 p.m. Monday, as they were dispatched to a residence on the 2600 block of McCrae. Upon arrival, they were greeted with heavy smoke billowing from a two-story home, KXAN reports.
Firefighters attempted to immediately enter the house to combat the blaze, but were forced to quickly exit due to the intense heat conditions that had already spread the fire from the first to the second floor. The residents of the home were not present initially but arrived as firefighters were actively working to extinguish the flames, CBS Austin states.
Once the fire was under control, fire crews reentered the house and made a grim discovery — the body of Herrejon, which bore signs of severe burns and a gunshot wound. The dire circumstances surrounding the man's death have led to an investigation by the New Braunfels Police Department and the Fire Department's Fire Marshal’s Office. "Investigators also discovered preliminary evidence that the fire had been intentionally set," according to a statement by the city obtained by KXAN.
The New Braunfels Police Department's Criminal Investigations Division, alongside the Fire Department's Fire Marshal's Office, is now to thoroughly investigate the incident to illuminate the events that led to Herrejon's demise. Though an autopsy is pending, the incident did not result in additional injuries, and the scrutiny of the blaze remains diligently underway. "Next of kin has been notified and an autopsy is pending to determine cause of death," KXAN quoted from the New Braunfels city’s press release.
