Police say Grays Harbor County man set mattresses on fire in hate crime

GRAYS HARBOR COUNTY — A 50-year-old Humptulips man was booked into the Aberdeen Jail early Monday after police say he set two mattresses on fire in a suspected hate crime.

According to the Aberdeen Police Department, officers were called to a fire in the 100 block of North G Street around 1 a.m.

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Responding officers were quickly able to quickly contain the fire with extinguishers from their patrol cars, police said.

Police said they spoke with a 62-year-old man, a 49-year-old woman and a 57-year-old Elma man who said they were sleeping in the area when their mattresses were set on fire.

“They explained the suspect was angry and yelling at the 62-year old, threatening to assault him because they would not allow him to stay with them,” a spokesperson for the police department wrote in a news release. “Moments later the mattresses they were on went up in flames.”

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Police said the three victims were uninjured, but a nearby structure sustained some exterior damage.

According to the police department, the suspect was booked into jail on suspicion of first-degree arson, harassment and hate crime due to statements he made.

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