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Police suspect serial arsonist behind Queens fire – Metro US

Police suspect serial arsonist behind Queens fire

Police suspect serial arsonist behind Queens fire
NYPD

The suspected Queens arsonist behind at least five fires in the last few weeks might have been behind another incident on Sunday.

Firefighters responded to a blaze on 69th Road near the Grand Central Parkway in Forest Hills at around 12:15 a.m. to find an under-construction home in flames.

RELATED: VIDEO: NYPD releases footage of possible Queens arsonist

The two-alarm fire brought out some 150 firefighters to the neighborhood.

No one was hurt by the fire, though officials said one woman was taken to the hospital for an anxiety attack.

Authorities believe the fire is the latest in a string of suspicious arson cases that kicked off Nov. 8.

All the fires appear to be targeting unoccupied buildings — including homes under construction, an empty building and a storage facility.

RELATED: Recent Queens fires could be arson: Police

Previous fires were set with combustible materials at the construction sites, but authorities were unable to confirm whether that was the case in Sunday’s blaze.

Hours after the latest fire, police released the image of a man they want for questioning.

The man is described as having a light complexion and was last seen wearing glasses, a scarf on his face and a green helmet while riding a motorcycle.

Last week, police told reporters that the suspected arsonist led the NYPD and FBI on a wild goose chase after leaving a coded message at one of the sites set ablaze.

RELATED: Suspicious fire hits another Queens home

The note provided a name, but NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce told reporters the decryption led them to a man they believe was falsely implicated by the arsonist.

“We believe it was deceptive by the perpetrator,” Boyce said. “The individual identified in that cryptic code is not him.”

Investigators ask that anyone with information in regarding the person of interest or the fires confidentially call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS or text their tips to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577.