a day ago
Court documents: Man arrested in series of arsons in Capitol Hill area
WASHINGTON () — A man was charged in connection with at least six fires that were set in the Capitol Hill area throughout May, DC Fire and EMS (DCFD) announced Friday.
Shortly after 10:30 p.m. on May 3, crews were dispatched to a structure fire near St. Joseph's Church, which is on C Street NE, where they found a dumpster fire had extended to a nearby garage and fence.
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The fire started in the dumpster after an object was ignited and placed inside by someone, according to court documents.
Firefighters were able to put out the fire shortly after getting to the scene.
The church's pastor told investigators that he did not see what happened, but that the church has cameras and he would turn over the footage. The garage, fence and dumpster all belonged to the church — and the car parked inside the garage was his.
He reported that there had been a fire next to a dumpster in an alley behind a restaurant just a few days before.
Authorities reviewed the church's surveillance footage, which revealed a man — wearing overalls, a hat and a shopping bag — walked up to the dumpster, lit something on fire, dropped it inside and then walked away.
According to court documents, a man wearing similar clothing was arrested after Fire Department units saw him trying to set another fire just days later, on May 9. That incident happened in a wooded area near Barney Circle NE.
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Later identified as Al-Rashidi Mohammad, the man told a firefighter that he was drinking and that there was a flashlight in the bushes. He was placed into handcuffs and said, 'I'm drunk' after officials asked him what he'd been up to.
Authorities asked him if he set any fires, to which he asked if there was video footage before saying, 'if they believe I did it, I did it,' noting he had a right to remain silent, court documents detailed.
He then reportedly spoke at length, offering for the 'officer to smell his socks because people often accuse him of being an Iraqi terrorist and insisting he had a tracking device embedded in his body,' the documents continued.
He told officers, 'if I'm responsible, I'm responsible.'
Mohammad was found with three fire-starting items on his person, officials noted.
Then, on May 19, multiple emergency calls were made reporting fires near Union Station. Just before 3 a.m., a fence was reportedly on fire at a construction site at 415 Second St. NE; at 3:25 a.m., a call came in for a fire in a trash can near 25 K St. NE; at 3:42 a.m., a dumpster fire was reported at 800 Second Street NE; and at 3:55 a.m., another trash can was said to be on fire near the intersection of New Jersey Avenue and H Street NW.
All four fires happened within a mile of the first dumpster fire on May 3.
CCTV footage showed a person carrying a similar bag to the one Mohammad had during his arrest on May 9.
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In a social media , DCFD said no one was hurt in any of the incidents, all of which happened between March and June 2025. DCFD, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) all worked together in identifying, arresting and charging Mohommad.
He was charged with Arson and held without bond.
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