Background: The apartments in Columbus, Ohio, where Hawa Hassan allegedly threatened to kill her children (Google Maps). Inset: Hawa Hassan (Franklin County Sheriff's Office).
An Ohio woman is facing a felony arson charge after police said she threatened to kill her four children by setting their apartment on fire.
Hawa Hassan, 30, was arrested on Saturday after police said she set fire to her apartment in Columbus, Ohio. According to court documents obtained by local ABC affiliate WSYX, witnesses at the scene found Hassan's four children, who told their neighbors that their mother had threatened their lives. Hassan then allegedly started a fire in the apartment's bedroom while she and the children were inside.
According to the court documents, the four children were not hurt and were able to escape the apartment. WSYX reported that all four of the children were in the custody of Franklin County Children's Services.
Police wrote in the court documents that the children told their neighbors Hassan used a lighter to set a fire in the bedroom while telling them she was "going to kill them all." When officers from the Columbus Division of Police spoke to Hassan at the scene, she allegedly admitted to setting the fire.
WSYX's reporting from the scene showed one of the apartments charred on the outside of the building. No other injuries were reported. The apartment complex in the Hilltop area of Columbus is located near a middle school.
Hassan is currently in custody at the Franklin County Jail, where she is being held without bond. She was charged with aggravated arson and two misdemeanor charges of assault and domestic violence by assault. Her next court date is scheduled for May 4.
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