A 55-year-old undomiciled man has been charged in connection with a Bronx high-rise gas explosion that killed one resident and sent dozens of neighbors scrambling into the street, prosecutors say. The blast tore through the upper floors of the Boston Secor Houses in Eastchester just after midnight on Jan. 24 while fire crews were investigating reports of a gas odor. Officials say the blaze was tied to a gas leak from a stove that had been removed from an apartment, and police arrested the suspect days later when he came back to the building.
Charges and arraignment
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced on Feb. 25 that 55-year-old Samuel Calderon was arraigned on 17 counts, including two counts of second-degree murder, four counts of first-degree assault and multiple burglary and reckless endangerment charges, according to Norwood News. Prosecutors say Calderon is being held in custody and is due back in Bronx Supreme Court in May.
What prosecutors say
According to prosecutors, Calderon went into an ex-girlfriend’s 13th-floor apartment, disconnected the gas line and tried to steal the stove so he could sell it for drugs. Court papers say he later told police he taped a blanket over the opening after hearing gas hissing, according to AP News. Surveillance video, prosecutors say, shows him wheeling the appliance down the hallway on a dolly before abandoning it and running out of the building.
Fire, victims and response
Fire officials reported a four-alarm blaze that spread across the 15th through 17th floors of the tower. More than 230 fire and EMS personnel responded, and hundreds of residents registered for Red Cross assistance, according to NY1. One resident, 60-year-old Ronald McCallister, was found unconscious and later pronounced dead. Several other tenants were hospitalized, some with serious injuries, local coverage noted, including amNewYork.
Neighbors and management
Tenants have criticized building security and the pace of the push to return, saying many were left without heat or shelter in freezing conditions after the evacuation. Wavecrest Management and NYCHA say they are coordinating shelter and services while the tower, which was already undergoing renovations under the city’s PACT program, is inspected, as reported by News 12. Hoodline tracked the initial evacuation and neighborhood reaction in earlier coverage.
Legal next steps
The case is being handled by the Bronx District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau and prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Joseph Gattuso. Calderon is presumed innocent pending trial, per the DA’s announcement in Norwood News. Prosecutors say they plan to present evidence, including surveillance video, at the defendant’s next court date.
