NYPD hunt flame-haired arsonist who lit Soho restaurant’s Pride flag on fire in the middle of the night
- A red-headed woman was seen setting a restaurant’s Pride flag on fire in NYC
- Footage obtained from The Little Prince restaurant caught the hate crime
- Disappointed resident called the arson a ‘step-backward’
New York City Police are hunting a red-haired arsonist who set a Soho restaurant’s Pride flag on fire in the middle of the night.
Surveillance footage showed the woman step out of a white SUV outside of The Little Prince restaurant around 1am on Monday.
The woman approached the flag that read, ‘Make America Gay Again’ with her lighter and set it on fire before rushing back to the passenger side of the vehicle.
Residents living above the French restaurant were forced to evacuate as firefighters put out the blaze. No injuries were reported and the building was only slightly torched.
Authorities are treating the case as a hate crime.
Police are on the hunt for a red-headed arsonist who set a Soho restaurant’s Pride flag on fire in the middle of the night. She was seen exiting the passenger side of a white SUV
The woman, who was seen on surveillance camera, is being sought by cops. Officials are also investigating the incident as a hate crime
The French restaurant has been the target of vandals before, with one worker recalling a separate incident where a person tried to steal it.
The employee wasn’t identified but told ABC 7 they were ‘hurt’ to witness the hate crime in the city where they live and work.
‘To be a part of it, and to witness it, and to work here and to have that happen, like this is my job. This is where I make money and this is also where I have a home,’ the employee told ABC 7.
‘So to have that taken away, I’m confused and I’m hurt, and I don’t know how to feel about it.’
A resident living above The Prince Restaurant was also astonished to learn why he had to evacuate in the early morning.
‘I can’t believe something like that that happened last night, so I just think we’ve started to go the wrong way,’ Stu Matz told the news outlet.
‘This is a really usually nice neighborhood where everybody respects each other and that’s not something that should ever happen around here.’
‘Hate exists unfortunately so I don’t know what to say, it’s heartbreaking,’ Asli Fevzi added.
The woman was seen approaching the flag that read, ‘Make America Gay Again’ in front of The Prince Restaurant
The restaurant was seen torched from the outside after firefighters put out the blaze
Residents living above the restaurant had to temporarily evacuate as the fire was put out
She then rushed back to the white SUV. It is unclear who the driver of the vehicle was
