VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The Virginia Beach Fire Department is asking for your help after a man was caught on camera at the end of September setting an apartment drop box on fire.
Investigators said this happened on the night of Sept. 25 around 10 a.m. at the Haven Apartments and Townhomes off of First Colonial Rd.
In the video you can see a man walk up to the drop box but instead of dropping of a check, he pours gasoline down the box, lights it on fire, then walks away.
"Luckily it was small and burned out quickly but it could have been, the potential is massive," Steve Huey, an investigator with the Virginia Beach Fire Department, said.
Huey said he was called out the next morning after maintenance crews smelled gasoline.
Investigators then found similar burn marks on both side of the leasing office.
They believe this man fits the same description of other fires started within a quarter mile of the complex.
Some dating all the way back to last November.
"The fires in the past that we think he may be involved with are dumpsters," Huey said. "So the other concern for us is graduating from dumpsters to a building."
Neighbors are also concerned, including Benjamin Woods, who lives just feet from where the fire started and was home that night.
"Initially I was shocked and worried," Woods said. "I was asleep on the couch when it had happened. My brother and sister were also upstairs unaware that it was happening."
Investigators believe the man does live in the area because of how he is able to start fires and just walk away.
Woods said he is prepared if someone decides to come back and start something again.
"We bought some fire extinguishers that we didn't have before just because we didn't think it would be a problem," Woods said. "Now we've got some in the kitchen, the living room, just in case something were to happen like that we can go out and deal with it quickly.
If you know anything please give the Virginia Beach Fire Department a call at (757)-385-4228.
