A recently opened bar in the New York borough of Brooklyn marketed to the LGBT community closed down after it was set ablaze.
The Bushwick-based bar Rash was shut down after a person wearing a black hoodie and a backpack entered the bar at around 9 p.m. Sunday with a gas can in hand, poured some gasoline, and started the fire before dashing out, officials said. At least two people were reportedly hospitalized due to the fire.
“I was standing right here actually when it happened. I had just stepped out,” Rash owner Claire Bendiner told NBC 4 New York. “Everyone rushed out. The side door has a glass front, and I looked over and saw flames to the top of the ceiling. It was crazy. It happened so fast.”
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Everyone who was in the bar, where three employees were working at the time, was able to get out, the bar’s owners said on Instagram. The flames and smoke also invaded two apartments above the bar, but everyone was able to get out, the bar owners said. However, two people were hospitalized and are in stable condition, the post added.
“We still don’t know what to make of this cruel act of violence,” the bar’s owners wrote. “In only five short months we were privileged to become home to such a talented and vital community of artists. It breaks our hearts that anyone would seek to threaten that for any reason.”
An unknown person filled a gas can there minutes before the fire, a nearby gas station’s surveillance footage revealed. The arsonist also left the gas can at the scene of the crime, according to Bendiner.
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No suspects or motives have been identified as of Wednesday.
The bar is attempting to raise funds via GoFundMe to rebuild the bar and pay its out-of-work staff.
