3 cars set on fire on Milwaukee's east side, owner says he may have been targeted
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) — Three vehicles were set ablaze overnight on Milwaukee's east side.
The Milwaukee Police Department tells CBS 58 they're investigating the incident as arson.
A security camera on E. Belleview Place between Bartlett and Oakland captured someone walking up to a gray SUV around 1:10 a.m., parked between a black SUV and a white pick-up truck.
You can see the person pour or place something near the gray SUV, light a match, and set it on fire.
Flames can also be seen reflecting from behind the SUV, presumably from the truck next to it.
The person then runs away, with the sound of a motor speeding off shortly after.
Just a few minutes later, a neighbor notices the flames and can be heard yelling.
"I started hearing popping noises, kind of like campfire sounds, and then my room like, lit up," said Charlotte Hughes, one of several neighbors who told CBS 58 they were shocked to see three cars engulfed in flames.
"It looked like an explosion. Like, smoke was everywhere, it was coming into the house," said another neighbor, Hadley Kalish.
Surveillance footage shows a fire truck arriving about five minutes later.
The Milwaukee Fire Department said they quickly extinguished the fires, and there were no injuries.
"The fire department was like, chain-sawing all the hoods off the car to spray out the fire," Hughes explained.
CBS 58's Jenna Wells spoke to a neighbor who said all three cars belonged to his family.
He said he woke up to a bang at his door, just minutes before the fire started.
He believes it is possible his family was targeted, saying he had a prior disagreement with someone who had made threats in the past.
There was not damage to anyone else's cars parked nearby.
"I actually chose to move into this area because of how quiet it was," said Kadish, who moved across the street just three days before the fire.
Neighbors call the area safe and friendly, and said they are alarmed by such a deliberate act.
"I've lived here for like 12 years, and nothing like this has ever happened," said Hughes.
The owner of the vehicles said his family moved here just before the start of the year, looking for a quieter area.
He and his wife are devastated, and he said they're figuring out the next steps.
The Milwaukee Police Department said they're looking for unknown suspects.