Police arrest 4th suspect in deadly Nice fire in France, search for last suspect

By Nur Asena Erturk

A fourth suspect was arrested for setting fire to a building in southern France two weeks ago, according to media reports.

A fire at a seven-story residential building in the city of Nice on July 18 killed seven people, including four children and a teenager.

Police arrested three suspects soon after the incident; the fourth one, aged 17, was arrested on Tuesday night at the Spanish-French border while returning to France, the daily Le Parisien reported.

A fifth suspect is being searched, the same source added.

The investigation was focused on the possibility of a criminal act from the beginning. First Deputy Mayor of Nice Anthony Borre said that video recordings showed suspects wearing masks entering the building just before the incident.

The suspects set on fire the stairwell of the building on the first, second, and third floors, the investigation showed. The flames mostly struck the seventh floor and blazed the Comorian-origin family's apartment.

Three of the suspects are accused of directly causing the fire while the two others are suspected of accompanying them during the crime.

The fire was related to a drug-trafficking dispute in which the victims were not involved, Le Parisien also said.