Deliberate FIRE? Five members of recent immigrant Black family are killed in ‘arson attack’ on their suburban Denver home
Five members of Black family are killed in ‘arson attack’ on their Denver home
Relatives said the victims recent were Djibril Diol, his wife, daughter, sister and nephew
Diol a civil engineer who worked for Kiewit recently moved from Senegal to US with his family
His wife and sister both of whom worked for Amazon also died in the blaze
Their bodies were discovered after firefighters extinguished the fire Wednesday
Three survivors who escaped the blaze by jumping from the upper floors were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries
Denver police and Fire Dept jointly investigating the fire and multiple homicide
Five members of an immigrant African family were found dead Wednesday after an early morning fire destroyed this suburban Denver home, near Denver International Airport – a blaze that authorities suspect this was a case of arson
Three members of the family, who had recently moved to the US from Senegal, escaped the blaze by jumping from a second floor window. They are currently in hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
‘Because people did die in this fire, and we have indications through some evidence that it was arson, it will be investigated as a joint investigation with the fire department as a homicide,’ Denver Police Division Chief Joe Montoya said.
Members of Colorado’s Senegalese community arrived at the home on Wednesday to help those in need at the scene, and were seen standing outside the house together in mourning.
‘He was a good person, a good worker and a good Muslim,’ Diol’s brother, Abou Djibril, said to the Denver Post.
Djibril Diol, seen here with his wife and young daughter were all died in a fire that police suspect was arson. His sister and nephew also died in the fire on Wednesday
In a video shared online of the fire taken from across the street, large flames could be seen rising from the family’s home in Denver.
![Abou Djibril, [right] 3](https://i0.wp.com/konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Abou-Djibril-right-3.jpg?resize=620%2C385&ssl=1)
Members of the Senegalese community gathered outside the home to mourn with Abou Djibril [photo], who lost his brother and his family along with a sister and nephew, all killed in the fire.
Three people were able to escape the fire, but five were killed in the blaze including a young couple and their toddler
![Abou Djibril, [right] 2](https://i0.wp.com/konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Abou-Djibril-right-2.jpg?resize=620%2C461&ssl=1)
Abou Djibril, [right], is comforted after losing five members of his family after Wednesday’s home fire in a suburban Denver community
In a video shared online of the fire taken from across the street, large flames could be seen rising from the family’s home in Denver.
Denver Fire Department Capt. Greg Pixley Pixley spoke outside the charred house in the Green Valley Ranch neighborhood, a relatively new suburban development of tightly packed homes near Denver International Airport.
A police officer attempting to rescue people on the first floor was pushed back by the fire’s heat and it appears that those who died were all on the first floor, he said.
Speaking to the Denver post, one member of the Senegalese community – Ousman Ba – who visited the scene, asked: ‘What would our community do to be a target?’
This home in Denver, Colorado was destroyed and five of the residents perished Wednesday in what the authorities suspect was a case of deliberate arson
The shell of the ‘torched’ house in the Green Valley Ranch neighborhood, a relatively new suburban development of homes near Denver International Airport
Police are investigating the fire along with firefighters because there are indications that it was arson, said Joe Montoya, division chief of investigations for Denver police. He would not elaborate on the evidence because he said he did not want to compromise the investigation.
Several personnel with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives who frequently assists agencies in arson investigations, were seen arriving at the home about mid-day.
Members of Colorado’s Senegalese community arrived in Green Valley Ranch scene of the fire weeping and comforting each other as fire investigators walked through the scorched rubble of the home
Members of Senegalese community watch the debacle after what authorities described as targeted arson at the Denver home of the Diol family. Five members of the family perished in the fire
Diol’s brother, Abou Djibril, told The Denver Post the people who died were members of a family that had immigrated from Senegal. Another friend, Ousmane Ndiaye, told the newspaper that the father was an engineer with Kiewit, a construction and engineering firm.
An official investigator wearing protective clothing stands outside the house that was almost fully destroyed in the fire
Officials are investigating the house to determine the cause of the fire, with police saying they suspect that the fire was started intentionally
The fire itself was intense, Pixley said. He credited firefighters with preventing it from spreading farther into the neighborhood, though two adjacent homes had significant damage from the heat.
‘This is a devastating time for Denver and this community. Our heart and our prayers go out to this community,’ Pixley said.
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