Puerto Rican Social Club fire
Puerto Rican Social Club fire | |
---|---|
Location | 1005 Morris Avenue, Bronx, New York City[1] |
Coordinates | 40°49′45″N 73°55′01″W / 40.829046°N 73.916814°W |
Date | October 24, 1976 2:30 am (Eastern Time) |
Attack type | Arson |
Deaths | 25 |
Injured | 24 |
Assailants |
|
Motive | Jealousy |
A fire broke out shortly after 2:30am on October 24, 1976, at the Puerto Rican Social Club in the Bronx, New York City, as a result of arson.[2][3] Jose Antonio Cordero, reportedly either a jealous lover or enraged family member of a woman attending the club, offered two teenagers, Francisco Mendez and Hector Lopez, rum and marijuana in exchange for setting fire to the club. Mendez poured gasoline around the property, while Lopez set it alight. The fire spread quickly, and club patrons found the fire escape blocked by a metal door that had been installed to prevent burglaries. The fire killed 25 patrons and injured 24 others.[3] Cordero pleaded guilty to arson, Mendez pleaded guilty to 25 counts of murder, and Lopez received a life sentence for striking the match.[4]
References
- ^ Oreskes, Michael (January 3, 1977). "Police arrest two suspects for the Bronx social club fire that killed 25 people". New York Daily News. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
- ^ Thomas, Robert McG. Jr. (October 25, 1976). "FIRE SWEEPS BRONX SOCIAL CLUB, LEAVING 25 DEAD AND 24 INJURED". The New York Times. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
- ^ a b Kleiman, Dena (February 11, 1978). "Youth Guilty of Causing 25 Deaths In Bronx Social Club Fire in 1976". The New York Times. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
- ^ Nolan, Caitlin (December 29, 2017). "Bronx Fire That Killed 12 Is Latest in History of New York City's Deadliest Fires". Yahoo! News. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
- 1976 crimes in the United States
- 1976 disasters in the United States
- 1976 fires in the United States
- 1976 in New York City
- 1976 murders in the United States
- October 1976 events in the United States
- 1970s crimes in New York City
- 1970s in the Bronx
- 20th-century mass murder in the United States
- Arson in New York City
- Arson in the 1970s
- Attacks on buildings and structures in 1970
- Attacks on buildings and structures in the United States
- Building and structure fires in New York City
- Crimes in the Bronx
- Disasters in the Bronx
- Fires in New York City
- Fire disasters involving barricaded escape routes
- Mass murder in New York City
- Mass murder in New York (state)
- Mass murder in the United States
- Massacres in 1976
- Massacres in the United States
- Morrisania, Bronx
- Murder in New York City
- Nightclub fires