BATON ROUGE, La. — A Louisiana man is facing a host of charges after police alleged that he disabled a fire alarm before setting fire to his ex-girlfriend’s downtown Baton Rouge apartment complex on Monday.
Ihab Mustafa, 40, was booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on several charges Tuesday, including simple burglary, aggravated criminal damage to property, terrorizing and aggravated arson, WAFB reported.
Officials with the Baton Rouge Fire Department confirmed to WBRZ-TV that 50 people were inside the complex at the time of the fire. Investigators believe that Mustafa sabotaged the Lake Tower Apartments’ alarm, meaning several tenants did not awaken until they smelled smoke inside their units.
Fire officials confirmed to WAFB that investigators located at least two different points of origin in one of the apartments, ruling the blaze intentionally set. The fire caused an estimated $4,000 in damage.
According to WBRZ, one of the tenants told fire investigators that she had received harassing and threatening messages from Mustafa, her ex-boyfriend, and that she believed he was responsible for the arson.
Meanwhile, video surveillance showed an individual matching Mustafa’s description enter the apartment complex using the front gate, then exit using the side gate near where the fire was set, WAFB reported.
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