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3 teens arrested in Denver fire that killed 5 Senegalese immigrants

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Keith Coffman, Reuters

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/overseas/01/28/fire.jpg"/><figcaption><em>Courtesy of Denver Fire Department Official Twitter Page</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>DENVER - Three teenage boys were arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of murder and arson stemming from a house fire last year that killed a family of 5 Senegalese immigrants, including 2 small children, police said.</p><p>Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen said the 3 juveniles were being held for investigation on nearly 2 dozen charges, including 5 counts of first-degree murder, 3 counts of attempted first-degree murder and 8 counts of first-degree arson.</p><p>Besides the 5 victims who perished in the blaze, 3 people inside the house escaped the flames by leaping from an upstairs window, police said.</p><p>Pazen declined to name the suspects, a 16-year-old boy and 2 other boys 15 years of age, because they are minors and have not been formally charged. All 3 were taken into custody in neighboring Jefferson County.</p><p>The Aug. 5, 2020 fire deaths shook members of Denver&#x27;s ethnic Senegalese community who feared the family whose house had been burned down may have been targeted because they were Muslim immigrants from the West African nation.</p><p>The case garnered widespread media attention, and police early on released surveillance photos of 3 masked individuals wearing hooded sweatshirts who investigators believed set the home ablaze.</p><p>At a news conference on Wednesday, Pazen declined to offer a possible motive for the alleged arson attack other than to say investigators lacked evidence of a &quot;bias-motivated crime.”</p><p>The deadly blaze erupted in the early morning hours in the city’s Green Valley Ranch neighborhood, killing Djibril and Adja Diol and the couple’s 2-year-old daughter, Khadija. The blaze also claimed the lives of the husband&#x27;s sister, Hassan Diol, and her infant daughter, Hawa Baye.</p><p>The police chief was joined at the news conference by Papa Dia, an immigrant from Senegal and a family friend.</p><p>“We are grateful but still in pain,” Dia said. “Arrests have been made, but we know it’s not going to bring these beautiful people back.” </p><div><strong>FROM THE ARCHIVES</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WDaYYnS35TE?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

<p>Three teenage boys were arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of murder and arson stemming from a house fire last year that killed a family of 5 Senegalese immigrants, including 2 small children, police said.</p>

Three teenage boys were arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of murder and arson stemming from a house fire last year that killed a family of 5 Senegalese immigrants, including 2 small children, police said.

3 teens arrested in Denver fire that killed 5 Senegalese immigrants

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3 teens arrested in Denver fire that killed 5 Senegalese immigrants

Keith Coffman,

Reuters

Published January 28, 2021 01:17 PM PHT

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