HOUSTON – A tweet seemed to foreshadow a bizarre case of arson Friday at a taxidermy shop in the Heights neighborhood of Houston.
The fire was reported about 2 p.m. at The Wilde Collection, a taxidermy shop at the corner of West 15th and Yale streets.
According to Houston firefighters, a man walked into the front office, poured two cans of gasoline on the floor and set the store on fire while two employees were inside the business. He left the business and was tackled by a bystander and an off-duty police officer while he was walking down the street from the store, officials said.
"I saw the guy getting arrested," said Ayah Aly, a witness. "He had like some scuffs on his face."
About 12:30 a.m. Friday, a cryptic message was posted to Twitter. It read: "The Wilde Collection is dead. By my own hand and wrath, I say this."
Although investigators have not confirmed that the man who posted the tweet is the same man who was arrested near the scene, they did say that the man was not a stranger at the business.
"The owner and the owner's daughter and the suspect had a relationship, (but) to what extent, we do not know," said District Chief Joseph Leggio, of the Houston Fire Department.
No one was seriously hurt in the fire, but the two employees who were inside at the time suffered smoke inhalation. Two dogs and some peacocks were rescued. A cat died in the fire.
The business suffered extensive damage.
