The worker who burned down a warehouse filled with Kimberly-Clark paper products in Ontario this week railed against corporations and compared himself to Luigi Mangione in messages to coworkers after the fire, officials said at a news conference Friday.
Chamel Abdulkareem, 29, is facing both state and federal charges in connection with the fire that broke out just after 12:30 a.m. Tuesday at the 1.2 million-square-foot warehouse in Ontario, where 20 other people were working.
Authorities say a video posted on social media shows Abdulkareem setting the vehicle on fire. In the video, a voice is heard talking about workers’ wages, while a hand moves forward and begins burning paper products placed on a pallet, as other small fires are already burning in the background.
Ontario Police Department releases booking photo of Chamel Abdulkareem.
(Ontario Police Department)
First Assistant US According to Atty. Bill Essaye, the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, said Abdulkareem initiated the fire and later messaged a colleague and compared himself to Mangione, 27, who has become an anti-capitalist folk hero to some after allegedly killing the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare on a New York sidewalk.
“Look, America was founded on free enterprise and capitalism,” Essaly said. “Anyone who attacks our values, our way of life, our system that provides the best goods and services to the most people, we will pursue aggressively.”
San Bernardino County Dist. Atty. Jason Anderson said he charged Abdulkareem with one count of aggravated arson and six counts of arson of a structure. If Abdulkareem is convicted on all counts, he could face a sentence ranging from 10 years to life in prison. Anderson said the fire destroyed about $500 million worth of paper products and $150 million worth of warehouse space.
Anderson said, “Arson is a real headache to me. I don’t understand… Anyone who is suspected of arson is doing something where they get no benefit from it, other than displacing people from their jobs, ruining commerce, getting in the way of labor, causing physical harm to people.” “We want to at least rest assured for our residents, because we are sensitive to arson in this county, especially in Southern California, that these crimes are taken very, very seriously.”
According to the Ontario Fire Department, when firefighters first arrived, they had to evacuate the building due to “extremely rapid fire growth” and take up defensive positions to contain the fire from high-volume hoses.
The fire caused the building’s roof to collapse and turned into a six-alarm fire, requiring the response of approximately 175 firefighters.
Abdulkareem was arrested in connection with the fire that morning. Fire officials said they were employed by NFI Industries, a third-party distribution company for Kimberly-Clark products.
Authorities said he would first face state charges.
