Ontario Warehouse Fire Update: Insights on Chamel Abdulkarim’s Role at Kimberly-Clark Distribution Center in California

ONTARIO, Calif. — New revelations have emerged from prosecutors regarding an arson suspect linked to a colossal fire at a vast warehouse in Ontario, California.

The suspect, 29-year-old Chamel Abdulkarim from Highland, California, is currently detained without the possibility of bail. He faces several felony charges, according to the Ontario Police Department.

“We are aware of a video circulating on social media that appears to capture aspects of the incident,” stated police officials. “Detectives are diligently examining and verifying the footage as part of the continuing investigation.”

Authorities reported Abdulkarim’s arrest following the execution of a search warrant at his residence. Evidence collected during the apprehension is undergoing analysis to aid the investigation.

In a press briefing on Friday morning, U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli highlighted a phone conversation in which Abdulkarim allegedly likened himself to Luigi Mangione, a murder suspect accused in the death of Brian Thompson, the CEO of a major American health insurer. Essayli remarked, “America thrives on free enterprise and capitalism. We are committed to strongly pursuing anyone who poses a threat to our values, our lifestyle, and our economic system, which delivers superior goods and services to the masses.”

The suspect was charged with one count of aggravated arson and six counts of arson of a structure, according to San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson. The inferno, which erupted around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, destroyed the 1.2-million-square-foot warehouse and paper products inside that were worth $500 million, Anderson said.

The suspect’s booking photo was released and a scheduled arraignment was postponed until Monday. He faces 10 years to life in prison if convicted as charged.

“Arson to me is a real head-scratcher,” the district attorney said.” I do not understand somebody who is suspected of arson does something where they get no value out of it, other than to displace people from their jobs, to ruin commerce, to get in the way of labor, to put people in physical harm. We want to be certain at least for our residents, as sensitive as we are to arson in this county, particularly in Southern California, that these crimes are taken very, very serious.”

Authorities said Abdulkarim was working at the Kimberly-Clark Distribution Center through a third-party company at the time of the fire. No one was injured in the blaze.

Investigators say they are reviewing the video posted to social media, which appears to show cases of toilet paper being set on fire inside a warehouse. In the video, a person repeatedly says he is not paid enough to live on.

A co-worker of the suspect told reporters he had just met Abdulkarim moments before the fire broke out and said there was initially no suspicion that he was involved.

“There was no suspicion that it was him, actually he was missing. So everyone was trying to find him. Everyone was blaming the robots at first. We were almost 100% sure it was the robots until the action in the video of course,” said Alex Montero of San Bernardino.