Oakland police are investigating the death of an Oakland man and his 1-year-old daughter in a house fire early Saturday, and the alleged arson could be the latest in a series of related crimes in the city.
Police and firefighters responded to a fire in a three-story house in the 9500 block of Stearns Avenue shortly after midnight. Officials said several people and children were trapped inside the building.
Oakland firefighters put out the blaze and found a 37-year-old man and his baby daughter in the home. According to police, two other family members sustained injuries and were transported to local hospitals for medical treatment.
Officials said a preliminary investigation determined the fire was deliberately lit. They did not disclose the names of the victims.
Oakland police suspect the fire in this home, in which a man and his 1-year-old daughter died, could be linked to other crimes, including a murder.
Paul Kuroda / Special for The ChronicleMohammed Alsamma, 25, who identified himself as the cousin of the deceased man, was standing in the driveway of the torn house, which was wrapped in caution on Saturday afternoon. He told reporters he was working as a security guard when he received a call about a fire in his home.
Seven people were at the home during the fire, Alsamma said, but nine or ten people lived in the Oakland home, which is on the edge of Interstate 580 near Bishop O’Dowd High School.
While holding his burnt and torn wedding suit in a nicer bag, Alsamma told reporters that he had come to the United States from Yemen and had asked the federal government for war asylum.
Mohammed Alsamma (left) and Muneer Paphthan, cousins of the man who died, go through the remains of the Oakland house fire.
Photos by Paul Kuroda / Special for The Chronicle“I thought we would be safe here, but death follows us everywhere,” Alsamma said.
Investigators believe the incident could be linked to a series of crimes in the area that included shooting, a murder and a separate intentional trade fire.
The crimes began with a shooting on April 10 in a liquor store on 90th Avenue 1900 Street. Police found a man there, who was identified by police as Dejoh Woods, 25, of Oakland, dead from gunshot wounds shortly before 9 p.m. that Saturday.
Police say they believe a series of related crimes broke out at this liquor store in East Oakland, where a man was killed on April 10, and a suspicious fire broke out on April 14. Saturday’s house fire near Bishop O’Dowd High School, in which a man and his 1-year-old daughter were killed, may have been linked to the crimes.
Paul Kuroda / Special for The ChronicleFour days later, around 11pm on April 14, Oakland firefighters responded to a structural fire in the same building. Arson investigators believe the fire was deliberately set on fire. No injuries were reported.
A day after the fire, Thursday, authorities said a man suspected of being involved in the fatal shooting turned himself in to Oakland police last Sunday. The man was arrested and the case was sent to the District Attorney’s Office in Alameda County for review.
The next evening, the house in Stearns Avenue was set on fire.
Anyone with information about the incidents is asked to contact the Oakland Murder Division at (510) 238-3821 or the Tip Line at (510) 238-7950.
The Oakland Police Department and Oakland Crime Stoppers are offering rewards for information in any of the murder cases and up to $ 40,000 for information leading to an arrest in Saturday’s incident. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Crime Stoppers or Oakland Tip Line at (510) 777-8572.
Vanessa Arredondo, Rachel Swan and Lauren Hernandez are staff writers for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] Twitter: @v_anana, @rachelswan, @ByLHernandez