Suspects in a Los Angeles fire that killed 10 people have been arrested nearly 25 years later.
After 24 years, arrests have been made in the L.A. fire incident that killed seven children and three adults, according to the Los Angeles Times.
LAPD homicide detectives arrested two men on Friday for conspiracy to commit murder, but sources say a female suspect, who’s suspected of committing murder, had already been in police custody, the Chicago Tribune noted.
A fourth suspect reportedly is still walking the streets.
The fire, which took place in May of 1993, hit a Westlake apartment building where many Latino immigrants were living.
According to Law Enforcement sources, the suspects are believed to be members of the well-known 18th Street gang.
Officer Aareon Jefferson, an LAPD spokesman, said Saturday that the names of the suspects were still unknown to him, the Chicago Tribune noted.
The suspects allegedly set the blaze in retaliation after the apartment manager put a stop to their drug dealing.
The scene from the 1993 fire was horrific, as mothers could be seen throwing babies from windows, hoping that someone below would catch them. Human chains were made to try to help some residents escape from higher floors, the Los Angeles Times noted.
One man lost his family after his wife and three children died in the fire.
The fire, which became known as “one of the worst arson fires in L.A. history,” sparked a higher demand for stronger safety precautions and fire inspections, according to Reuters.
The arrests made in this case come years after two members of the 18th Street gang were arrested for murder in 1998 after prosecutors alleged that the two suspects, Rogelio Andrade and Allan Lobos, were the ones who started the fire, the Chicago Tribune noted.
However, due to a lack of evidence, prosecutors dropped the charges two years later.
“It wasn’t clear these were the right guys,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Joseph Esposito said, at the time, according to the Tribune. “No one is thrilled with the idea [of dropping the charges], but we don’t want to prosecute innocent people.”
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