DENVER (AP) – Police released a surveillance photo Tuesday of three people believed to have started a house fire in suburban Denver that killed five recent immigrants from the West African nation of Senegal.
Investigators said the suspects, wearing full face masks and dark hoodies, fled in a dark-colored sedan after the fire was set in the Green Valley Ranch neighborhood, a relatively new development of closely spaced homes near Denver International Airport. Authorities have offered a $14,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for setting the blaze in the early morning hours of Aug. 5.
Killed were Djibril and Adja Diol, along with their 22-month-old daughter Khadija, as well as relative Hassan Diol and her infant daughter Hawa Baye. Three other people managed to escape by jumping from the second floor of the home.
Police, fire officials and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are investigating because there are indications that it was arson, Joe Montoya, division chief of investigations for Denver police, said shortly after the fire. He would not elaborate on the evidence because he said he did not want to compromise the investigation.
Some Muslim advocacy groups have called on police to consider the possibility of a hate crime, but Montoya has said detectives are looking at all possible angles to avoid getting “tunnel vision.”