On May 31, 2024, our 911 Dispatch Center received a call of a house fire.

Officers arrived and started immediately evacuating neighboring residences. The house was fully engulfed in flames when a man and three children who had escaped told officers an infant was still inside. The man attempted to run back into the house to rescue the child, but officers restrained him for his safety. Firefighters then entered the home, rescued the infant, and transported the child to the hospital, where the infant was treated and released the following day.

An employee at a local restaurant approached officers on the scene and said his restaurant had video footage of a man with a gas can parked behind their building. Investigators obtained the video and saw a man whose description matched a sighting of a man near the scene of the fire with a gas can. Officers obtained footage from another nearby restaurant and clothing store, placing the same vehicle near the scene within minutes of the fire. In addition, investigators learned that the ex-boyfriend of one of the home’s residents had threatened to kill her two days prior.

After further investigation, detectives spotted a vehicle at a nearby business matching the suspect vehicle description, followed it out of the parking lot and arrested the suspect. When he was arrested, officers found clothing matching what was seen in the surveillance footage, along with items that smelled like gasoline. The arrest came less than eight hours after the initial fire call.

The man, Abdirahman Abdi Abdullahi, pleaded guilty July 11, 2025, and on May 8, 2026, he was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison.

This case is a great demonstration of incredible teamwork between EPPD officers and investigators, the Eden Prairie Fire Department, the Minnesota Fire Marshal and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.