Man charged with arson in business district fire
PITTSBURGH (AP) – A man has been charged with arson in an early morning fire that gutted and damaged five buildings in the main business district of a poor Pittsburgh suburb.
Twenty-seven-year-old Edward McDonald, who lived in one of the apartments destroyed by Friday’s six-alarm blaze, is charged with more than a dozen counts of arson as well as risking a catastrophe.
Authorities allege in a criminal complaint that McDonald told investigators that he started the blaze “in response to the voices in his head and as a way of dealing with the stress and torment he was feeling.”
Asked by reporters whether he started the fire, McDonald replied “Yeah, I guess I did.”
He remains in Allegheny County jail unable to post $100,000 bond; court records don’t list an attorney for him.