A Pennsylvania man is behind bars after allegedly setting fire to his stepbrother’s home on March 29, trapping 10 people inside and forcing terrified parents to toss their children from a second-story roof to escape the flames.
Anthony Mohamed, 37, was arrested by U.S. marshals following a nearly two-month manhunt. The Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office has charged Mohamed with a long list of offenses, including six counts of attempted criminal homicide, aggravated arson, burglary, criminal trespass, and multiple counts of reckless endangerment.
The incident unfolded just before 8 a.m. at a duplex on McCargo Street in New Kensington, a community located northeast of Pittsburgh. According to investigators, the blaze blocked the home’s primary exit, leaving the residents with no choice but to climb out onto a porch roof.
“They could not descend the staircase to the first floor due to the heavy fire,” New Kensington Fire Chief Ed Saliba said. “The husband jumped off the roof, the wife threw the three kids down to him, he got them to safety, and when she jumped, she broke her leg.”
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Neighbors rushed to assist the family as the fire rapidly intensified. One neighbor recounted the chaotic scene, noting that the situation was too dangerous for the victims to even wait on the sidewalk.
“Flames were shooting out the window behind them as they were coming off the roof,” the neighbor said. “I just jumped in, I just took off my robe, wrapped up the kids, and just tried to get them out of the street and get the mom out the street really, and away from the house because stuff started exploding.”
Medical personnel treated the mother for her broken leg and confirmed that the children were safe.
Local police and a Pennsylvania State Police fire marshal launched an immediate investigation into the cause of the text. The fire marshal determined that the blaze was “intentionally set using a direct flame device to ignite combustibles within the structure.”
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Neighborhood surveillance footage aided detectives in identifying the suspect. The DA’s office stated that video captured a suspect walking toward the McCargo Street residence at 7:38 a.m., shortly before smoke became visible on a neighboring camera at 8:00 a.m. Authorities later positively identified the individual in the footage as Mohamed, who is the stepbrother of one of the residents.
Following Mohamed’s arrest, the partner of his stepbrother expressed the deep emotional toll of the incident.
“You tried to kill my children,” she said. “You tried to take everything I have in this world from me. I hope that one day, when you’re sitting there rotting in your cell, that you realize that you did have something to lose.”
Mohamed remains in custody and is scheduled to make his first court appearance on June 2.
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