Charges are pending against a man accused of setting a house on fire in Welsh Friday morning following a domestic dispute.
Around 1 a.m., Welsh police responded to a report of a disturbance at a home in the 100 block of Powers Street.
The State Fire Marshal’s Office has taken over the investigation.
According to their spokeswoman, the suspect lived with his girlfriend at her great grandmother’s home. He and the girlfriend had gotten into a fight, and he allegedly tried to set a mattress inside the home on fire. When that didn’t work, he started lighting things on fire in the living room, the spokeswoman says.
The suspect then forced his girlfriend out of the home, and according to the report, he stayed inside the burning home with a knife, attempting to kill himself.
The suspect later escaped the home by breaking through a window.
With the knife still in his hand, police ordered the suspect to drop it, but he allegedly refused.
An officer then used a taser to apprehend the suspect.
The suspect was transferred to the hospital where he remains.
The fire marshal’s spokeswoman says the suspect and his girlfriend were the only two people inside the house when the fire started.
No one else sustained any injuries.
We will report additional information as it becomes available.
