A New York City man is facing murder charges after allegedly setting a fire in a Queens apartment building that killed four people, including a 3-year-old girl, and injured seven others, authorities said. Roman Amatitla, 38, of Maspeth, was arrested Wednesday and arraigned on multiple charges, including eight counts of second-degree murder and first-degree arson, in connection with the March 16 blaze at a three-story building on Avery Avenue in Flushing. He faces up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted.
Prosecutors described the incident as an act of mass murder. Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said Amatitla had no known motive and did not appear to have any connection to the building or its occupants, noting that he selected the building at random. Prosecutors said Amatitla was seen entering and exiting the Avery Avenue building several times that morning, at one point urinating in front of the apartments. He then went to a nearby gas station, bought a beer, stole a second one, and took a pack of matches after refusing to pay for a lighter. After entering the building for a fourth and final time, authorities said, he lit a piece of paper on fire and tossed it onto trash near a stairwell. As smoke spread through the street, he remained in the area watching the building burn, according to court testimony.
During a Thursday court hearing, Queens Assistant District Attorney Gabriel Reale said Amatitla “watched as people jumped from various windows, some of them living, one of them dying,” while sipping a beer, according to a report from the New York Post. Three of the victims — Sihan Yang, 3; Chengri Cui, 49; and Shin Chie Ming, 61 — were found inside the building and pronounced dead at the scene from smoke inhalation. A fourth victim, Hong Zhao, 64, died later at a local hospital after suffering multiple broken bones and brain trauma when he leaped from a window to escape the flames. Several first responders were injured in the rescue, including an FDNY lieutenant and a firefighter who entered the basement after a staircase collapsed, suffering thermal burns and smoke inhalation. Four other occupants were injured by jumping to flee the fire, and a fifth was rescued from a second-story window by firefighters.
Prosecutors said Amatitla “had to get his rage out on someone or something,” though no official motive has been released. NYPD records indicate he is from Mexico, though his immigration status has not been confirmed.
