A masked man crept into a Detroit apartment complex on the 9300 block of East Jefferson Avenue, climbed to the second floor, and poured an ignitable liquid on the floor just outside an occupied unit before setting it ablaze, according to Detroit police. No injuries were reported from the June 9 fire, but investigators are now asking the public to help identify the person seen doing it on surveillance video.
The suspect walked into the building carrying a tablet and made a clear effort to hide his face whenever he passed near cameras, as reported by ClickOnDetroit. Detectives describe him as standing between 5 feet 8 inches and 5 feet 11 inches tall, wearing a dark blue or purple hooded jacket, distinct red pants with a white pattern, and sandals. Per Detroit police, he lit the liquid on fire while hiding in the stairway before fleeing the building on the east side.
How Investigators Divide the Case
Cases like this typically move through two separate city agencies before an arrest happens. The Detroit Fire Department's Fire Investigation Division is the municipal agency tasked under city ordinance with determining origin and cause for suspicious fires, while Detroit Police detectives handle tracking down and arresting suspects, according to the City of Detroit. That division of labor means fire marshals can rule a blaze incendiary well before anyone is taken into custody.
Anyone with information can call the Detroit Police Department Fire Investigation Division at (313) 596-2940 or email [email protected]. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK UP, which offers cash rewards of up to $1,000 for tips leading to a felony arrest and issues tipsters a confidential code number so they can collect through a partner bank without ever revealing their identity, per Crime Stoppers of Michigan.
A History of Rewarding Tips — and a Program That Vanished
Reward-driven tip lines have deep roots in Michigan arson enforcement. The Michigan Arson Prevention Committee once paid out more than $1 million in $5,000 rewards and helped lead to the arrest of over 1,200 arsonists statewide, before the program shut down in 2018 after losing its primary insurer funding source, according to Bridge Michigan. Fire officials at the time noted that financial incentives were a vital motivator for witnesses in fire cases that are otherwise difficult to crack.
The stretch of East Jefferson Avenue where this fire broke out sits within a corridor known for its mix of historic single-family homes and multiunit apartment towers, including the East Jefferson Residential Historic District, per the Detroit Historical Society. The corridor has also seen fresh investment in recent months — city officials broke ground in March on the $24 million Jefferson Avenue Apartments project, adding 52 new affordable units to the east side, according to the City of Detroit.
Not an Isolated Incident on Detroit's East Side
This is not the first time Detroit has dealt with an intentionally set fire caught on camera this year. In May, fire investigators responded to a similar surveillance-captured arson inside the Huntington Place convention center downtown, where a masked suspect poured flammable liquid onto a carpet and lit it before staff quickly doused the flames, as Hoodline previously reported. In July, DFD's Fire Investigation Division ruled a separate early-morning fire at an east side commercial building to be incendiary, opening its own active arson investigation.
Then in August, Wayne County prosecutors charged a 52-year-old former Detroit firefighter with setting five separate arson fires across the city between July 10 and August 4. Under Michigan Penal Code MCL 750.72, willfully or maliciously setting fire to a multiunit building containing residential dwellings is classified as first-degree arson, a felony punishable by up to life in prison and fines up to $20,000 or three times the value of the property damaged — regardless of whether individual units were occupied at the time, according to the Michigan Legislature.
A City That Has Made Progress, but Isn't in the Clear
The broader trend in Detroit is one of improvement. Annual structure fires in the city dropped by more than 50 percent between 2014 and 2022, falling from 4,741 down to 2,154, as officials attribute the decline to expanded arson prevention initiatives and aggressive demolition of blighted structures that once served as prime arson targets. Even so, this latest East Jefferson fire is a reminder that occupied buildings remain vulnerable, and that catching the person responsible still comes down to old-fashioned tips and video identification.
Detroit police have not announced an arrest and are continuing to ask residents to come forward with any information about the man seen on camera. Anyone who recognizes the distinctive red patterned pants, the hooded jacket, or the tablet the suspect was carrying is urged to contact investigators.
