A Bnei Brak resident approximately 30 years old has been indicted on charges of deliberately setting fire to an occupied apartment building in the city, sending residents fleeing in panic and causing extensive damage to three apartments.

According to the indictment, the defendant arrived at a three-story residential building on HaRav Meshulam Roth Street with a plan to set it ablaze. Prosecutors say he poured a flammable substance near a storage shed in the building’s courtyard, ignited it and ran from the scene.

The flames spread rapidly from the courtyard to the balconies on the upper floors, forcing residents to escape their homes as the fire spread through the building.

Three apartments sustained severe damage. Balconies caught fire, and beams supporting an awning collapsed in the blaze.

Prosecutors maintain that the fire was a premeditated act intended to endanger the building’s residents.

The motive behind the attack was not disclosed.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)