A man from Michigan was arrested after the police said he was driving more than 700 miles to shoot Pennsylvania’s house of a man who had communicated online with his ex-girlfriend.
The police of Bensalem said that 21-year-old Harrison Jones, from Rockford, Mich., Was arrested for the on fire of a house with six people inside.
The people inside were admitted to the hospital, while the two dogs of the family, Trey and Jett, were unable to escape the house and died.
Civil servants said the people in the house could escape thanks to the mother, who heard suspicious sounds, before they found the fire and evacuated her family, adding that some family members even had to jump out of the windows of the second floor to escape the flames .
“It is a miracle that they have all survived,” said William Mcvy, director of the public safety of Bensalem during a press conference on Monday morning. “And we mention the mother of that house for taking the actions she did to protect her family and to ensure that they all lived.”
Bensalem Fire Rescue and Bensalem Police Detectives began to investigate the cause of the fire and found that the fire seemed to be ‘deliberate and burns of nature’.
Officials said that the only lead in the case was a grainy picture of a black sedan from a neighbor’s security system.
The video laid a vehicle that pulled the house around 5 o’clock that morning. A suspect is seen who left the vehicle and walks to the back of the house, where officials say that he has stayed for more than ten minutes before he is seen the running away from the house and leaves.
About 30 seconds later, video shows an explosion that bursts while the house goes up in flames.
Two days after the fire, researchers were able to trace the vehicle back to Jones, get an arrest warrant and take him into custody.
Researchers added that Jones also had clear burns on his arm.
Officials confirmed that Jones is the ex-boyfriend of a woman from Michigan who had an online relationship with a male resident in the Bensalem house since 2023. However, a motive for the fire is still being investigated.
Judicial documents obtained by Fox 29 Philadelphia Suppose Jones had to ride with his ex-girlfriend to meet the man with whom she communicated in Bensalem to a local hotel in the near future. Instead, researchers say that he was only driven to Bensalem with ‘murderous intentions’.
“He rode more than 730 miles, 11 am, to do what he did and then immediately drove back home,” said Mcvy during the press conference.
Officials said that Jones is accused of six counts of attempted murder, arson and related violations. He is currently waiting for delivery back to Pennsylvania.
According to a GoFundMe page, the family, identified as “Andrew and Stacy Zalenski, together with their two children, Alex and Ava, and the parents of Stacy, Joe and Karen Wendowski, lost everything.”
“Our family members are currently going through a terrible time in their lives. If you have animals, you know that they are part of your family, and they meant everything for this family, “is the post.
“Stacy tried to do everything she could to save them and risked her life back in the burning house, but had to jump out of the second story window because she felt losing consciousness.”
The family member who made the GoFundMe page added that the Zalenski family “has experienced so much in the last three years, with Stacy fighting a long, hard fight against cancer and now losing their house.”
“They are a graceful, loving, caring, generous family and nobody deserves to go through everything they have experienced. It has been difficult enough to lose her life almost several times with cancer and stacy, to lose their beloved dogs, precious memories and everything they possess and have worked so hard over the years. “
“This is the worst nightmare of a family to sleep in their house, not knowing that a stranger broke in their house and tried to take their lives on fire,” Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn told Fox 29 .
“This family suffered such an unthinkable loss. The actions of this suspect are incomprehensible and he will be held responsible. “
In addition to the GoFundme, a family member also started a fundraising at the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society to honor their memory. A Paws spokesperson told Fox 29 that they are planning to create a plaque to devote one of their kennels to Trey and Jett for their heroism.
