73-year-old man arrested in connection with fire and shooting at Miami apartment building

Court documents show that a 73-year-old Miami man is suspected of shooting an employee of the apartment building where he lives and intentionally starting a fire that quickly engulfed the complex.

According to Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, the fire was reported around 8:15 a.m. EST on Monday at the Temple Court Apartments. As he said during Monday’s press conference announcing the suspect’s arrest, more than 125 firefighters fought the fire for about eight hours.

Emergency services found a man in the building who had been shot. Authorities said he was transported to a local hospital with a gunshot wound to the torso and was in critical condition. According to the facility’s manager, Atlantic Housing Foundation, the victim is an employee of the complex who said she was “shocked and saddened” by the fire and shooting.

An arrest affidavit says a resident of the apartment building, Juan Francisco Figueroa, was arrested in connection with the shooting and fire. He faces several charges – including attempted murder, first-degree arson and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon – and was ordered held without bond at Tuesday’s hearing, according to online court records. Information from lawyers was not immediately available.

An arresting affidavit says Figueroa was seen fleeing the scene by a resident of the building the morning of the shooting.

The affidavit states that another resident came out of his apartment after hearing gunshots and found the victim on the first floor with a gunshot wound, who, according to the affidavit, gave Figueroa the apartment number. The statement said the resident also saw an “explosion” after the shots were fired.

Detectives conducted a traffic stop on Figueroa’s vehicle around 4 p.m. EST and he was found in possession of a revolver, according to the affidavit. He allegedly told detectives that he “knew what he had done and expected to spend the rest of his life in prison,” the affidavit said.

The three-alarm fire was the city’s first major fire in 25 years, according to Suarez.

Firefighters who arrived at the scene rescued more than 40 people, including some from balconies, the mayor said, calling their actions “heroic.” Firefighters carried out seven rescue operations using a ladder, he added.

According to Miami Fire-Rescue spokesman Lt. Pete Sanchez, firefighters discovered a fire on the third floor of the apartment building.

The building has a wooden structure, which “explains the intensity and rapid spread of the fire,” he added.

Suarez said all the building’s residents were accounted for, most of whom were elderly.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Three firefighters were transported to a local hospital in stable condition for further evaluation, according to Sanchez. Two of them have already been released, he said on Monday afternoon.

Sanchez said a resident was also taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation.

According to the mayor, the property management company is renting the hotel for the next two weeks for 43 residents who evacuated as a result of the fire.

“We are still investigating the cause of these incidents and checking for any other injuries,” the Atlantic Housing Foundation said in a statement. “The police are investigating and we will help as much as we can.”