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District resident Mitchell Cooper, 63, was arrested and charged with arson and threats to do bodily harm following an incident that played out on Monday afternoon, authorities announced.
Shortly before 4 p.m. on March 4, first responders were called to the 900 block of 5th Street SE to investigate reports of a fire inside of an apartment.
Some evacuations were required inside the building when a fire was reported in the third floor of an apartment building that had to be contained by sprinklers.
The fire was quickly declared under control by DC Fire and EMS personnel, but not before Cooper was taken into custody.
According to investigators, Cooper intentionally set fire to his apartment after receiving a notice of past-due rent from the property manager.
He allegedly threatened the manager and returned to his apartment, where he began setting things on fire.
Cooper was later taken into custody and evaluated by paramedics. No other injuries were reported, and first responders helped assist residents back into the building after they took shelter in a nearby rec center.
According to fire investigators, the incident is being considered incendiary, and "an activated sprinkler was critical in holding the flames in check until final extinguishment by firefighters."
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