Man charged after Eden Prairie house fire

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — A 23-year-old Eden Prairie man is charged with arson after prosecutors say he set fire to his ex-girlfriend's home while several people, including four children, were still inside the house.

Abdullahi Abdi Abdullahi Jr. was charged with first-degree arson Monday after his ex-girlfriend identified him in several surveillance videos near the fire area.

According to court documents, Eden Prairie police and firefighters responded to a fire at a home in the 8500 block of Cardiff Lane around 11:30 a.m. Friday, May 31. When crews arrived, parts of the house and garage were engulfed in flames. . Authorities say there was a man outside the home with a child and two women. Charging documents say both women were crying and there was still a baby inside the home. Firefighters entered the home and were able to remove the baby from the home. Authorities said one adult and four children, including the infant, were taken to the hospital. Authorities said the child was in critical condition.

The man told police he was at home with four children when the fire broke out. He told authorities he was sleeping in an upstairs bedroom when he was awakened by the sound of a fire alarm and heavy smoke. He ran out of the house with three older children, but told authorities he thought the baby was with the two women, who were not home at the time of the fire.

Officers spoke with one of the women, who said she thought her ex-boyfriend had set the house on fire. She identified her ex-boyfriend as Abdullahi Jr. and told authorities he had come to her house two days before and threatened to kill her.

Multiple surveillance videos from nearby businesses captured a man dressed in black parking a red Jeep in the parking lot of a nearby business. The man is seen getting out of the vehicle and grabbing a white trash bag and a red gas can from the back of the vehicle. The video then shows the man walking toward the house, and about six minutes later he is seen running toward the Jeep holding the gas can. He is seen placing the gas can in the back of the Jeep and speeding away, according to charging documents.

Detectives were able to confirm that the Jeep had been rented from an Enterprise in Eden Prairie. The man who rented the Jeep told investigators that he loaned the vehicle to Abdullahi Jr. on May 28, then Abdullahi Jr. returned it to him on the afternoon of Friday, May 31. Abdullah Jr.'s ex-girlfriend later identified him. in the video, and told authorities he was driving the red Jeep when he allegedly threatened her on May 29.

Abdullahi Jr. is currently in detention.

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