DC Man Allegedly Set Fire to Subway

WASHINGTON (AP) – A deaf man believed to be an outpatient at a mental hospital is accused of starting a fire on a crowded subway car during the morning rush hour, Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority officials said. No one was injured.

Witnesses said the man poured a flammable liquid in the back of the car and then ignited it as the train was pulling into the Judiciary Square station about a mile northwest of the U.S. Capitol

“People from the back began to panic and move forward. Fortunately we then began to pull into Judiciary Square. If we hadn’t been at Judiciary Square that would have been a real tragedy,” said passenger Nick Fiore.

The fire was quickly extinguished once the train pulled into the station.

“The platform was full of smoke. I grabbed an extinguisher and ran down the escalator, jumped on the train and started putting out the fire,” said station manager Harvey Spraggin.

Charged with destruction of property was Charles Awasi Inkotariah. Metro spokeswoman Cheryl Johnson said Inkotariah was an outpatient at St. Elizabeths Hospital, the same mental institution where John Hinckley Jr. has been confined since his 1981 assassination attempt upon President Reagan.

Brad Earman, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, said Inkotariah, who is deaf, could also face federal arson charges.