Eden Prairie Man Set Fire To Home With Baby, 3 Other Kids Inside: Feds

EDEN PRARIE, MN — An Eden Prairie man is accused of setting fire to a townhome with four children inside — including a baby — announced U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger Wednesday.

Abdirahman Abdi Abdullahi, 23, was charged with one count of arson causing injury.

Abdullahi made his first appearance on July 1 in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge Tony N. Leung. He was ordered to remain in custody pending a formal detention hearing scheduled for July 8.

On May 31 at about 11:30 a.m., the Eden Prairie Fire Department responded to a fire in a townhome.

When the fire started, there were five people in the house, including a man and four children, authorities said.

When emergency responders arrived, a nine-month-old baby was still in the burning house, according to prosecutors.

Eden Prairie firefighters entered the home and found the baby. The baby survived the fire but needed to be transported by ambulance to the hospital.

According to investigators, the baby's mother lived in the burned home and Abdullahi was on probation for violating a restraining order that prohibited him from contacting the mother, authorities said.

Investigators also learned that two days before the fire, Abdullahi sent a threatening message to the mother stating, "when I see u I’m smoke u," according to prosecutors.

Surveillance footage from a nearby business showed Abdullahi carrying a red gas can through a line of bushes towards the townhome shortly before the fire, authorities said.

Moments later, Abdullahi emerged from the bushes with the gas can and returned to his vehicle, according to prosecutors.

When he was arrested, officers found clothing items that matched Abdullahi’s clothing in the surveillance footage, authorities said.

This case against Abdullahi was the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Eden Prairie Police Department.