Police said Anthony Mohamed set fire to a duplex after a family dispute, forcing children and adults to flee from a porch roof.

NEW KENSINGTON, Pa. — A Pittsburgh man accused of setting fire to his stepbrother’s duplex with 10 people inside faces attempted homicide and arson charges after residents escaped by jumping from a porch roof, authorities said.

The March 29 fire on McCargo Street turned a family dispute into a criminal case built around video evidence, fire-scene findings and the accounts of people trapped by smoke and flames. Anthony Mohamed, 37, was charged with six counts of attempted criminal homicide, aggravated arson, arson-related offenses, burglary, criminal trespass, criminal mischief, risking catastrophe and nine counts of recklessly endangering another person. The charges are allegations, and Mohamed is presumed innocent unless convicted in court.

Fire crews were called to the brick duplex just before 8 a.m., when flames had already cut off the main way out for people on the McCargo Street side of the building. New Kensington Fire Chief Ed Saliba said the family could not get down the stairs because heavy fire blocked the first floor. Jeris Smith jumped from the roof first, then told Jasmine Bell to send the children down. “He just jumped down, and he said, ‘Throw the kids,’” Bell said. “I just started launching kids off the roof.” Bell said she told the children she loved them before tossing them toward Smith, who caught them below as the fire spread behind them.

The escape became the defining moment of the case because it showed how little time the family had once the smoke alarm sounded. Smith, Bell and their three young children got out from the porch roof. Smith’s 18-year-old son, who had been sleeping in the basement, escaped through a side door. Three people in the other half of the duplex also got out. Bell suffered severe leg injuries when she jumped after the children, including broken bones in her leg, foot and ankle. The children were treated for smoke inhalation, and another woman from the adjoining side of the duplex also was treated for smoke inhalation. No deaths were reported.

Investigators said surveillance video helped them trace the minutes before the fire. A neighbor’s camera showed a person later identified by police as Mohamed approaching the McCargo Street side of the house around 7:38 a.m., then walking across the street with a gas can toward one of the victims’ cars and returning to the house. The same footage showed him leaving with two backpacks at 7:42 a.m., then coming back without bags several minutes later. Around 7:55 a.m., authorities said, the sound of a smoke detector could be heard. Five seconds later, Mohamed was seen running from the scene, according to police accounts of the video.

A Pennsylvania State Police fire marshal later ruled that the fire was intentionally set. Authorities said the blaze started in the living room and was ignited with a direct flame device used on combustible material inside the structure. Fire officials described a fast-moving scene, with flames reaching the front of the building and residents stranded above the fire. One report said the flames reached extreme heat inside the home, while witnesses described flames shooting out of windows as the family came off the roof. The McCargo Street side of the duplex was gutted, and the fire displaced two families from the corner of McCargo Street and Freeport Road.

Police said the alleged attack followed a fight about a week earlier between Mohamed, Smith and at least one of Smith’s sons. Investigators said text messages between Mohamed and Smith after that fight showed Mohamed wanted to continue the conflict. Authorities did not announce a full motive beyond the alleged dispute, and they did not report that any weapon other than fire was used in the attack. Mohamed was described by police as Smith’s stepbrother. Bell, speaking after the fire, said the person responsible “tried to kill my children.” Her mother, Nikki Bell, later said Jasmine Bell was recovering after surgery and physical therapy.

The case moved from a fire investigation into a search for a suspect after charges were filed. Police initially sought Mohamed on a warrant, and the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office said the U.S. Marshals arrested him in Allegheny County on May 22. He was being held in the Allegheny County Jail after the arrest, according to reports citing the district attorney’s office. An online docket listed a preliminary arraignment for June 2. The court process is expected to determine whether prosecutors have enough evidence to move the charges forward, including the attempted homicide counts tied to the six people who escaped from the McCargo side.

Neighbors also became part of the emergency response before firefighters could fully take control of the scene. One neighbor said flames were coming from the window behind the family as they fled and that there was no time for them to wait near the house. The neighbor said they wrapped the children in a robe and moved them away from the street while noises from the burning structure continued. The rescue unfolded in public view, with smoke rising from the corner property and people trying to get injured residents away from the house. The family later stayed in Pittsburgh while recovering and preparing to move into another place.

The prosecution now centers on what investigators say the cameras, fire-scene review and witness accounts show about the moments before and after the fire. Mohamed’s next confirmed court step in available reports was the June 2 preliminary arraignment, while the families displaced by the blaze continued rebuilding after the March 29 fire.

Author note: Last updated June 20, 2026.