Knife-wielding Florida man arrested after setting restaurant on fire with flaming propane tank: authorities
A 53-year-old man, Rubiel Maceo Castillo, was arrested in Tampa, Florida, after he allegedly carried a flaming propane tank through a restaurant and brandished two knives at deputies who arrived to detain him. Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office deputies were called at around 8:45am on Tuesday to a report of an assault or battery in progress, and on arrival found the building filled with smoke and flames, with a propane tank outside also alight. The confrontation, captured on surveillance and bodycam footage, highlights the danger the incident posed to staff, customers and responding officers.
According to court documents obtained by WFLA-TV, Castillo allegedly grabbed two knives and charged at several people inside the restaurant, cutting a woman on the wrist when she tried to intervene. Investigators say he then cut a gas line connected to a grill, seized a propane tank and ignited the fire. Deputies, heard on video repeatedly ordering him to "drop the knife", worked alongside Hillsborough County Fire Rescue crews to extinguish the blaze before taking him into custody. He was booked into jail and is being held without bond.
- Tampa man allegedly set restaurant ablaze using a flaming propane tank.
- He wielded two knives and cut a woman's wrist, deputies say.
- Castillo, 53, is jailed without bond.