Arson Arrest by LAPD anti-terroism division raises questions
Tuesday morning, May 26th, Dawud Abdulwali was arrested by the Los Angeles Police on suspicions of arson following an investigation into a catastrophic fire that took place in downtown Los Angeles on December 8, 2014.
According to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti the Da Vinci Apartment Complex went up in flames, resulting in $30 million dollars in damages to the complex and $60 million dollars in damage to a city-owned building close by. Locals tweeted pictures and referred to the scene as “looking like a nuke went off.” ATF Agent Carlos Canino told the press, “This was an historic fire in size and dollar loss, and required an equally significant joint effort by the LAFD, LAPD and ATF to solve.”
Officials are so far silent as to what originally lead them to Abdulwali. However, the local LA news station ABC7 has revealed that “electronic and physical evidence” was involved in this connection. Interestingly, according to the LA Times, the Los Angeles Police department’s anti-terrorism division is the department that originally pulled Dawud Abdulwali over for a traffic violation. Following his arrest, Abdulwali was held for suspicions of arson. The action of the anti-terrorism division involving themselves initially in a minor crime such as a traffic violation suggests Abdulwali has been under watch by authorities for an extended period of time.
Officials have not released his alleged motive for this attack, however elements of Abdulwali’s background raises questions.
According to Abdulwali’s Facebook page, he attended Morningside High School in Inglewood, California showing that he has lived in California for many years. His current age is 56. In 2010, NBC4 Los Angeles reported Abdulwali was found as a squatter in a large house in the San Fernando Valley. At the time he was living under a false name, Dawud Walli, under a “falsified lease for the three-story home.” Abdulwali’s Facebook page shows that in the same year, he travelled internationally to Australia. He also has a history of using false names, as the Washington Post reports Abdulwali has a “record of fraud, credit card forgery, and theft” under the name Timothy Roston.
Abdulwali has led a quiet life, meaning that those around him, including his landlord knew little to none about him and his background. The landlord of his L.A. house, Poleth Chavez said this of Abdulwali, “He’s pretty quiet. He keeps to himself.” Chavez also said that in December, around the time of the fire, Abdulwali “paid two months’ rent upfront and left, saying he was heading to San Francisco.”
Currently, further details have not been released regarding any possible ties Abdulwali may have to terrorist organizations or groups.
Arson has been a tactic discussed by Al-Qaeda before, specifically in the group’s English language online magazine titled Inspire. In past issues Inspire has encouraged Muslims both internationally and domestically to carry out acts of terrorism with specific recipes and instructions, including how to “Make A Bomb In The Kitchen Of Your Mom.” In the magazine’s ninth issue an article that begins on page 30 is headed with “It Is of Your Freedom to Ignite a Firebomb.” The 6-page article discusses instructions on carrying out arson in U.S. forests, even “recommending Montana because of the rapid population growth in wooded areas.”
Currently, Abdulwali is being held in prison with bail set at $1 million dollars. The suspect is expected to be “formally charged Thursday.” If convicted, the $90 million dollars in damages amount to a sentence of life in prison.
