Three men were killed and the suspect was arrested after a house fire in Temple City on Sunday.
Firefighters responded to a residence in the 6000 block of Sultana Avenue just before 5 p.m., according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
“Once the fire was extinguished, there [were] three deceased adults found inside the location, and two male adults were transported to a local area hospital where they were admitted for further treatment,” L.A. County Sheriff's deputy Raquel Utley told KNX News’ Jon Baird.
She added that the two men were disoriented and had pretty severe burns on their upper bodies.
A woman who lives near the house described the scene to Baird.
“Just people yelling and the flames were high, so we didn't go to that side because the neighbors were already there helping them, I guess,” she said.
Detectives were approached by a 64-year-old man who was a roommate of the three men who died. He was detained as part of the investigation; however, there was a language barrier because he spoke Mandarin.
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On Monday afternoon, Lieutenant Hugo Reynaga with the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau told KNX News’ Jon Baird that the 64-year-old man who was detained admitted to setting fire to the home that left three of his roommates dead.
“After investigators interviewed the person of interest, [a] male adult, 64-year-old yesterday with the help of a Mandarin translator, they discovered that the person of interest was, in fact, a suspect in the arson at the residence,” he said.
The man was later identified as Xuanhan Zhang. He has been charged with three counts of murder and is being held at the Alhambra Courthouse on a two-million-dollar bond.
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