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Arson suspect identified in double attacks on DC apartment in just over 24 hours

Investigators have identified a person of interest in two arson attacks on the same apartment in D.C. (Courtesy D.C. Fire and Rescue)
An investigation is ongoing in the case of an arson attack on the same apartment in D.C. twice in a little over 24 hours. (Courtesy D.C. Fire and Rescue)
Firefighters respond to an arson attack twice in the span of a little more than 24 hours. (Courtesy D.C. Fire and Rescue)
A first floor apartment in D.C. was attacked twice by an arsonist. (Courtesy D.C. Fire and Rescue)
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Police have released the identity of the suspect taken into custody after setting fire to a Southeast D.C. apartment building twice within 24 hours.

Authorities took 53-year-old Michael Hawkins, of D.C., into custody after a second fire broke out at an apartment building in the 2100 block of Suitland Terrace in Southeast on Friday morning.

Hawkins was charged with arson.

A burning material, or accelerant, was thrown in an attack on a first floor apartment in the 2100 block of Suitland Terrace in Southeast, according to police.


In a statement, D.C. Fire and EMS spokesperson Vito Maggiolo said, “The second of the two fires caused significant damage to the apartment and took about a dozen units and 60 firefighters to bring under control.”

No injuries were sustained in the attack but four residents from the apartment were displaced and are receiving assistance from the American Red Cross. Maggiolo said the people living in the apartment were staying elsewhere after the first attack and weren’t in the building Friday morning.

The first incident happened around 7 a.m. Thursday. The more serious attack happened Friday just before 9 a.m.

An accelerant-sniffing K-9 team was there Friday morning checking the area.

The Fire Investigation Unit worked with the fire department in the arrest.

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Valerie Bonk

Valerie Bonk started working at ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½ in 2016 and has lived in Howard County, Maryland, her entire life. She's thrilled to be a reporter for ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½ telling stories on air. She works as both a television and radio reporter in the Maryland and D.C. areas. 

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