Apartment Fire

 https://www.yahoo.com/news/4-dead-man-sets-fire-150722694.html

4 Dead after man sets apartment building on fire

Another mass shooting in the news was in a grocery store; that man used an AR-15. He killed two people and himself. Assume he shot himself with handgun laying by his body (along with the AR 15). The South Bend Oregon police, article said, did not fire any shots. 

The Fort Worth, Texas shooter had recently been evicted from the 4 apartment building that he set on fire. He sat in parking lot shooting residents as they fled the building. When police arrived and found the man shooting, they shot and killed him.

My ex-husband burned down a 3-resident apartment building after he was evicted. He was evicted due to not having paid any rent for a year. He tried to fight the eviction. Small town. I knew the Justice of the Peace who heard the case, due to my volunteer work at the library. Was she a librarian? I do not remember. 

Anyway, she told me he cried crocodile tears that the owner was putting him and his three children out on the streets. Problem was, she knew, that I had full custody of our children and they were living with me, not him. 

I believe it was Thanksgiving; and I was at an friend's house for dinner. No cellular phones back then, so I am not sure how it happened that my daughter's friend called to tell her that "your house is on fire." The girl lived across the street from our former home. Jill and I drove to the house, and yes it was ablaze.

Volunteer fire fighter fell through the roof breaking his leg. Other than that no casualties. My son was with his father. They went to exes Aunt's house for dinner. He took a long way to get home; no need to drive through Mt. Pocono to get there. He lived above a bar where he worked as a cook. He took my son to a local bar down the street; left him there, went to the house and set it afire. 

He did not get charged with the crime. There was a witness; an old woman who lived across the street. She was terrified of my ex. The cops found kerosene can in trunk of his car. He said it was for heating fuel in his apartment. His mother read me the riot act when I allowed the police to question my son. Son refuse to incriminate his father. C'est la vie. Just one more crime the ex got away with no repercussions.

My daughter told me later that he said he burned it down to get rid of the memories. It was the last place we lived before I finally left him. I could sort of understand that; I have burned photographs of people who hurt me.I once tried to set his car on fire. Rabid anger. It is called:comply, comply, explode.

No one lived in the other two apartments. I do not think the ex would have set the fire if there had been. But who knows, he was nicknamed Mad Dog in the town; he had many hunting rifles. Yet, he would probably have not wanted to get caught.

Many years later, the other daughter's husband laughed about how the ex bragged about getting away with burning down a building. What was funny about that! He became her ex. He was not quite as bad as her father, but all types of abuse is bad.