Arson suspect arrested by citizens near Kenneth fire armed with a ‘propane tank or flamethrower’
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Man claims he used incendiary device ‘to smoke marujuana’ because he ‘couldn’t afford a lighter,’ witness says. While the cause for the Palisades, Eaton and Hurst friends are still under investigation, the Los Angeles Police Department initially said it believed the Kenneth fire was started intentionally.
![[One of the resident’s involved in the citizen’s arrest, Renata Grinshpun, said the man was carrying an incendiary device]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/10/11/Image-1.jpg)
At about 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, law enforcement officers responded to reports of a man attempting to light a fire behind a van on the 21700 block of Ybarra Road in Woodland Hills. According to a witness, the man is believed to be in his mid-20s and speak Spanish as his first language.
![[Fire crews battle the Kenneth Fire in the West Hills section of Los Angeles, Thursday]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/10/08/SEI235506799.jpg)
“What we know right now is the incident occurred; started here,” Sean Dinse, Senior Lead Officer of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Topanga Division, told KTLA 5. “And about 20 minutes 30 minutes later, a suspect was detained over the Woodland Hills area by citizens.”.
Locals who spotted the suspect and called 911 rallied together to corner the man, before binding his wrists with rope and zip ties and holding him down until police arrived. “All of a sudden I hear a car come to a screeching halt, and I hear a guy running out saying, ‘Stop, stop, drop what you’re holding, drop what you’re holding,’” Renata Grinshpun, a woman involved in the citizen’s arrest, told the local news station.
“The next thing we hear is, ‘Neighbours, neighbors, he’s trying to start a fire. Call 911, call 911.’ My mom ran out in a bathrobe ready to fight that guy and all of the neighbors started coming out, calling 911. We really bound together as a group.”.
