Authorities make arrest in San Marcos apartment complex fire that killed 5

Jul 5, 2023, 5:17 PM

SAN MARCOS, Texas (AP) — An arrest has been made nearly five years after a fire intentionally set in a housing complex killed five people and displaced 200 more in San Marcos, Texas, the city announced Wednesday.

The July 20, 2018, blaze damaged the Iconic Village and Vintage Pads apartments in San Marcos, a city of almost 70,000 people southwest of Austin. The city fire marshal said days after the fire that four bodies were found in a single apartment building, which did not have sprinklers since it was built in 1970 and was code-compliant when constructed.

Later that year, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said the fire had been set on purpose, and the five deaths were ruled homicides.

Authorities gave little other details, including the name of the suspect. They planned to say more Thursday during a press conference.

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