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Denver house fire: Photos of three masked suspects who burned three adults, two kids alive released by police

Three other people who were in the house as it was engulfed in flames managed to escape by jumping from the second floor
PUBLISHED AUG 19, 2020
Djibril and Adja Diol with daughter Khadija, one of the suspects (GoFundMe/Denver Police)
Djibril and Adja Diol with daughter Khadija, one of the suspects (GoFundMe/Denver Police)

DENVER, COLORADO: Authorities released a surveillance photo of three people on Tuesday, August 18 who were seen wearing full-face masks after allegedly starting a house fire that killed a family of five, including an infant and a two-year-old tot. NBC Denver affiliate KUSA reported the identities of those killed in the August 5 fire, namely Djibril Diol, 29, Adja Diol, 23, their 2-year-old daughter Khadija, as well as Djibril’s sister, Hassan Diol, 25, and her infant daughter, Hawa Baye.

According to the outlet, three other people who were in the house as it was engulfed in flames managed to escape by jumping from the second floor.



 

“The fire appeared to be deliberately set by three unknown individuals wearing dark hoodies and full-face masks who fled the area in a dark-colored 4-door sedan,” the police wrote in a statement, soliciting the public's help in identifying the suspects. According to Religion News Service, the victims were members of Denver's Senegalese community. However, several local and national Muslim leaders have called for the fire to be investigated as a hate crime.

“This loss has left a huge void in our Colorado Muslim community,” the Colorado Muslim Leadership Council said in a statement. “We call upon the Denver Police and Denver Fire Departments to expedite their arson investigation and bring those responsible to justice. Family member Moussa Diol pleaded for answers at a press conference just days after the tragedy. "Just help get this resolved, because this just hurts a lot, losing your family, all your family at one time," he said, KUSA reported.

Released photo of masked suspects (Denver Police)

According to Religion News Service, Djibril Diol immigrated to the US from Senegal several years ago. A GoFundMe for the family described him as "a young man with a promising future" in Civil Engineering. According to KUSA, Diol was working on a project reconstructing a section of Interstate 70 in Denver. "Djiby cared for his family, his brothers and parents. Djiby a young man with a promising future in Civil Engineering has left behind a community that he so deeply loved and cared for. We are saddened by the loss of a loving Dad, a nurturing husband, and a caring brother to all of us," a family member wrote on GoFundMe.

As reported by the Associated Press, Senegal's consul general flew to Denver from New York to meet with the victims' family at the request of the country's President Macky Sall, who expressed his condolences to the family on Twitter.



 

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock also met with the family and offered his condolences in early August. "You better best believe that this is something that none of us in this city or this state or in this nation should stand for,” he said at the time, per AP.

Joe Montoya, a division chief with the Denver Police Department (DPD), revealed that a $14,000 reward was put up by Metro Denver Crime Stoppers and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) for information that might lead to the suspects. "Beyond the money, what I am asking for is [a] heartfelt plea," he said. "I want people to look into their hearts, I want them to look at this family and understand that this was a family that was thriving. They were headed in the right direction. He [Djibril] was doing all the things he needed to do to provide his family with an amazing life in America, and that was all cut short on that day."

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