An Oregon man is in jail after yelling racial slurs before setting fire to his apartment building, which injured two people and left several others homeless.
Shaun Szwarz, 40, is now charged with six counts of first-degree arson, reckless endangerment, and first-degree criminal mischief for a four-alarm fire at an apartment complex in Portland, Oregon, on July 11.
The 40-year-old is accused of starting a fire in his unit, which quickly spread to other parts of the complex, prompting drastic evacuation measures from his neighbors, many of whom had to jump from apartments on higher floors to escape the intense flames.
A neighbor told KATU that the fire forced an elderly woman to jump from her balcony.
“An 82-year-old lady jumped off the balcony to try to escape…””It’s an insane story,” Michael Jones stated.
Two people were hospitalized for serious injuries, including third-degree burns, a fractured vertebra, and an ankle injury.
The fire severely damaged six of the building’s 19 apartments, rendering them uninhabitable, and displaced at least 15 people, according to local reports.
Jones claimed that Szwarz returned to the crime scene and made bizarre statements.
“The guy had the nerve to come back here, and his words: ‘Oh, these are all my Black friends,'” Jones said of the African-American neighbors who were not displaced. “Then police ended up coming to get him.”
Jones simply labeled it “an idiot moment.”
Szwarz initially claimed that he was asleep when the fire started, but witness accounts suggest otherwise.
One of his neighbors reported hearing Szwarz scream and yell racial slurs inside his apartment.
Szwarz told investigators that he was arguing on the phone with his girlfriend, but when authorities contacted her, she stated that she hadn’t spoken to him in two years.
He then informed police that he was on the phone with “someone.”
He also admitted to leaving a gas can near his couch, but said it wasn’t leaking.
However, according to court documents obtained by KGW, fire investigators discovered evidence of gasoline throughout Szwarz’s apartment, including burn patterns consistent with an ignitable liquid being poured from the front door to the back bedroom.
In court, he pleaded not guilty to all counts. His lawyer questioned the gravity of some of the charges his client faces.
“I understand that the court has already found this to be a violent felony,” the defense attorney stated. “I understand the fire was extremely dangerous to others.
But in terms of the nexus, I believe Mr. Szwarz is charged with starting this fire, but in terms of the nexus of having some type of intent to threaten serious physical injury, I did not see evidence of a serious physical injury in the brief discovery I received in the affidavit.”
Szwarz remains in jail without bond. The investigation into the fire is ongoing.
The Red Cross is providing temporary shelter for all displaced residents. GoFundMe pages have also been established to help with their relocation costs.
