Westerville police arrest suspect who threatened to light gasoline in hospital

Bethany Bruner, The Columbus Dispatch
Updated ·1 min read
Westerville police say the man in this wanted photo of a person suspected of attempted arson Thursday morning at Mount Carmel St. Ann's Hospital is Izuchukwu Ogbuehi, 26, who is listed as living on the streets of Columbus. He is currently charged with one count of aggravated arson for the incident at the hospital, though police say additional charges could be filed in connection with small fires at two Columbus businesses.

Westerville police have charged a man accused of pouring gasoline inside a hospital and threatening to light it on fire.

Izuchukwu Ogbuehi, 26, who is listed as living on the streets of Columbus, is currently charged with one count of aggravated arson. Police say additional charges could be filed at a later date as Ogbuehi is also suspected of starting two other small fires at businesses besides the hospital on Thursday morning.

Ogbuehi walked into Mt. Carmel St. Ann's hospital on Cooper Road around 10 a.m. Thursday, left a substance he said was gasoline and threatened to light it on fire before leaving.

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A portion of the building was evacuated. No injuries or significant damage were reported.

Police say they suspect Ogbuehi may have started a fire at the Kroger located at 1745 Morse Road and the McDonald's at 1661 Morse Road, both of which are in Columbus' Northland area. The fires were reportedly set around 8 a.m. Thursday.

Columbus firefighters responded to both small fires and extinguished them. No injuries were reported in those fires.

Anyone with additional information is asked to call Westerville police at 614-882-7444.

bbruner@dispatch.com

@bethany_bruner

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Westerville police investigating after gas poured at St. Ann's