Accused of arson, ex-student says school is ‘lucky’ she can’t build bombs, cops say
One fire started in a dorm that also housed a daycare. Another was set in a fitness center bathroom.
All told, authorities said there were eight small fires started Wednesday around noon at St. Catherine University’s campus in St. Paul, Minn., the Twin-Cities Pioneer-Press reports.
And if 19-year-old suspect Tnuza Jamal Hassan had her way, the school would have burned to the ground, a criminal complaint filed Friday said: “Her fire-starting was not as successful as she had wanted,” the Pioneer-Press reports.
Hassan, a Minneapolis resident, had been enrolled at the university for the fall 2017 semester, but was not enrolled this semester, the university said in a statement.
Hassan “quit last fall because she and her family were planning to vacation in Ethiopia,” according to a criminal complaint reviewed by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “Hassan said she started the fires because she's been reading about the US military destroying schools in Iraq and Afghanistan and she felt that she should do exactly the same thing.”
Police took Hassan into custody after they found her in a student lounge around 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 17, according to the university. Hassan was removed from campus around 2:30 p.m.
Hassan made a chilling remark after she was arrested about what she would have done if she had more technical skill.
“You guys are lucky that I don’t know how to build a bomb because I would have done that,” Hassan told fire investigators and police, according to the complaint reviewed by the Star-Tribune.
Hassan told police she started six fires on campus, the Pioneer-Press reports, but authorities counted eight, they said.
Hassan has been charged with first degree arson in connection with the fires at multiple buildings across the campus, KARE reports. The fires set off campus sprinkler systems, which successfully contained the fires, including in the building with the daycare where there were 33 children and eight adults. The suspect had used matches to ignite books, sanitary napkins and toilet paper in the buildings, police said.
Furnishings sustained damage in the fires, but there was no structural damage to the the buildings where the fires were set. The university described them as “small and quickly contained.”
No injuries were reported, according to the university, which believes the acts were an isolated incident.
Deputy Fire Chief Stacy Hohertz reported and Public Safety has confirmed, that no injuries have been reported in today's fires on campus. The arson incidents included fires set to a chair and papers in a garbage can. Investigation is ongoing and we'll continue to provide updates.
— St. Kate's (@StKate) January 17, 2018
The university’s president said Friday she was shocked and saddened to hear the crime was committed by a former student.
“In addition to my sadness, I have a tremendous amount of gratitude knowing that all of our students, faculty, staff, and other community members are safe,” said President ReBecca Roloff.
As of Friday afternoon, Hassan remains in custody at the Ramsey County Jail, according to the Pioneer-Press.
Hassan told law enforcement that she penned her roommates a letter on “bringing back the Caliphate,” the Star-Tribune reports — alarming the roommates, who passed the letter on to the university, according to the criminal complaint.
Security camera footage caught a woman holding a plastic bag and walking into the dorm that was set on fire before the blaze, according to the criminal complaint. That same woman walked into and out of the student lounge before the sprinklers went off, the Star-Tribune reports. The bag held matches discarded in a bucket, and was found by police.
This story was originally published January 19, 2018 at 3:20 PM with the headline "Accused of arson, ex-student says school is ‘lucky’ she can’t build bombs, cops say."