DETROIT (WXYZ) — This past Saturday, at 11:30 pm, a Detroit house on Mansfield near Vassar was set on fire allegedly by a man who was living there.
The suspect, who the neighbors say is believed to be in his forties, was arrested by Detroit Police thanks to neighbors and strangers who came together immediately to help detain the man on a neighbor's front porch.
Cell phone footage acquired by 7 News Detroit reporter Faraz Javed shows the suspect in a red T-shirt. We're not showing his face since he has not been charged yet, but this is also the moment when a few Good Samaritans confront the suspect.
"I just had my camera phone out, and I wanted to get him, admitting to what he did. As well as try to keep him in the area," said Joshua Walker.
Walker, who lives a few blocks away, was on his way back home when he saw the fire and stopped to alert the neighbors.
"When you first got here, it was just this section of the house, but by the time you were knocking on everyone's door, the whole house was on fire?" asked Javed.
"The whole house was engulfed, and they were putting water on this man's house to prevent the fire from going there," said Walker.
While no one was injured, the police say two people were inside the burning house.
"He would do things for me, you know like bring my trash out, or shovel the snow for me in the winter or something like that," said Adria Hall.
66-year-old Hall, who lives next door, told me that the suspect had been living in the house for a few years. That's why Adria was shocked to hear him confess to arson on her front porch.
"He said that he had been bullied, somebody put him out of the house, and he said he was just tired of being cursed out and treated badly," said Adria.
"But surely that doesn't justify it," said Javed.
"Oh, of course not," said Adria.
Another area resident, Marcus Johson, described the suspect as a decent guy, which is why he, too, was really surprised that night when he confronted his neighbor, as we also see in the video.
"When I came out here, it was just mayhem, and I saw him standing there. And then everyone starts coming from everywhere. And they were like trying to jump on him. And I didn't know what was going on at the time, that's why I was telling him to come here in the corner," said Johnson.
"I was just praying the whole way, and just to make sure, everyone was safe. I didn't want anyone to be hurt, I didn't even want him to get hurt," said Walker.
Meanwhile, Hall, who has been living in the area for 30 years, describes the neighborhood as a peaceful community and was happy to see neighbors and strangers step in to help.
"They were a great help. I mean they were beating on my door, you know because they didn't see any lights on in there, cause we were in there - dead sleep, we are three senior citizens," said Hall.
Javed tried to contact the homeowners to get the full story but couldn't reach them. In the meantime, Detroit police say the suspect is still in custody, and the case has been sent to the prosecutor's office pending arraignment.
