Two men tried to set fire to the building of the US government migration agency in Bakersfield. An external camera recorded their actions, including the moment when the arsonists’ clothes caught fire. The perpetrators have escaped, the services are appealing for help in finding them. Firefighters put out the fire, but the flames did a lot of damage.
The incident took place last week in Bakersfield, California, outside the local branch of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, the US government agency for migration and citizenship. The video released by the agency shows two masked men pouring a flammable substance around the building. At one point, one of them leans over with a lighter. The situation quickly spirals out of control, the fire spreads in a fraction of a second, and the man’s clothes immediately burst into flames.
Later in the video you can see that the arsonist starts to run, his clothes are on fire. His companion also tries to escape, but loses to the slippery ground. As he falls to the ground, flames appear on his hoodie. The man runs away in the same direction as his friend, on the run he manages to put out the fire.
Bakersfield, California. Fire extinguished
According to the portal vice.com, the firefighters who arrived at the scene put out the remaining fire in about ten minutes. However, the flames entered the building and some of the equipment was damaged.
“Dear customers, we have not started the year well, but with God’s grace we will move forward” – we read in the Spanish-language entry of the American migration agency on Facebook, where the video was posted, as well as an appeal for help in identifying the perpetrators.
The motives for the attack are unknown.
vice.com, Servicio de Inmigration
Main photo source: Facebook/Servicio de Inmigracion