A suspect has been arrested in the investigation into the deadly January fires in Los Angeles, US authorities announced Wednesday, October 8. Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, is suspected of starting a fire on New Year’s Eve near the Pacific Palisades neighborhood.
It was this initial fire, which firefighters believed was extinguished, that reignited on January 7 to devastate this exclusive neighborhood of the Californian megalopolis.
“The recklessness of a single person sparked one of the worst fires Los Angeles has ever seen, causing widespread death and destruction in the Pacific Palisades,” U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in announcing his arrest.
The Los Angeles fires have killed a total of 31 people, destroyed thousands of homes and forced tens of thousands to flee their homes. The Palisades Fire alone killed 12 people.
“Evil people”
According to the investigation, Jonathan Rinderknecht is an Uber driver who dropped off passengers in the area where the fire started on New Year’s Eve. Geolocation data collected by investigators shows that the suspect was “30 feet,” or about 10 meters, from the fire when he himself attempted to report the fire to emergency services, Bill Essayli said.
Investigators also found images showing a city on fire, which the suspect allegedly generated using artificial intelligence in the weeks before the fire. Investigators have not identified a clear motive.
“I wish we could get inside someone’s head, but we can’t,” said Kenny Cooper, an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). “Evil people do bad things,” he said, adding that the evidence “will be addressed at trial.” Let us remember that the deadly fires in Los Angeles cost the lives of at least 31 people and caused losses worth 53 billion dollars, of which nearly 40 billion were insured. In total, more than 16,000 buildings were destroyed by the flames.
Source: BFM TV
