Share this Story: 'He reacted so fast': Whyte Avenue '2x4 guy' hailed as hero after arsonist sets 13 vehicles ablaze 'He reacted so fast': Whyte Avenue '2x4 guy' hailed as hero after arsonist sets 13 vehicles ablaze Photo by Ian Kucerak / Postmedia Article content Two Edmonton men are being praised for their heroism in taking down a man who lit 13 vehicles on fire near Whyte Avenue Friday evening. A video circulating on social media shows the suspect arsonist throwing gasoline from a jerry can onto vehicles and lighting them on fire before crossing 104 Street to a Starbucks where he was apprehended through a citizen’s arrest before police arrived on scene. The man was arrested soon after by police and taken into custody. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or 'He reacted so fast': Whyte Avenue '2x4 guy' hailed as hero after arsonist sets 13 vehicles ablaze Back to video Wtf is happening on Whyte Ave ?? video from @reddit https://t.co/4dIjIDqhq2 pic.twitter.com/w2a82l3XFM — Dana (@Schesbalz) April 13, 2019 Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Charges are pending as of Saturday afternoon as police continue to investigate, EPS spokeswoman Carolin Maran said in an email. The two men who responded to the slew of arsons — characterized online as “Hawaiian shirt guy” and “2×4 guy” — were able to diffuse the situation and control the man in the coffee shop until police arrived. ‘This is better than nothing’ 2×4 guy, or Jeff Halaby as he is more commonly known, was inside his new restaurant Spotlight Cabaret around 9 p.m. for a pre-opening menu tasting when an employee saw the man lighting vehicles on fire. “I was so scared that one of those cars was going to explode because it was right in front of the restaurants across the street,” he said. Not wasting a beat, Halaby said he ran down the stairs to go outside, but then stopped to see if there was something in the newly-renovated venue that could be of use. “I thought, well I can’t go out there without anything in my hand,” he said. “I found a four-foot piece of baseboard and thought well, this is better than nothing. I ran across the street to cut him off because I didn’t want him to continue walking closer to Whyte Avenue.” And thus 2×4 guy was born. But Halaby said he doesn’t see himself as a hero. “I don’t feel like I was any kind of hero. I feel like there was a lot of people on Whyte Avenue yesterday who had the same instinct that I did,” he said. “I just kept thinking this guy can blow up a car. That’s all that was in my head.” Pretty intense moment on Whyte Ave tonight. pic.twitter.com/shcGc0nCsO — Ryder (@ryderfm) April 13, 2019 Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content ‘He reacted so fast’ But Spotlight Cabaret co-owner Aimée Beaudoin said his immediate response was an act of heroism to her and the 45 new staff members in the restaurant. “He reacted so fast and was down there,” she said. “I really applaud Jeff for being a hero and now our whole staff knows that Jeff’s got your back.” Running out of the restaurant with the baseboard, Halaby headed for The Bamboo Ballroom across 104 Street to cut off the accused and was yelling at him to stop. The man then lit a moving SUV on fire before he crossed the street, threw the jerry can down and headed for the Starbucks, Halaby said. Halaby said he followed him toward the coffee shop and before he arrived the man was already taken down by the other social media famous resident. “The Hawaiian shirt guy did not need my help. Once Hawaiian shirt guy had him on the ground, he wasn’t going anywhere,” Halaby said. Photo by Ian Kucerak / Postmedia ‘He poured gasoline all over my hood’ Jessica Venne was driving down 104 Street in her red Ford Escape when the suspect poured gasoline on her hood and lit the car on fire. “I noticed on my right there was a ton of smoke and I kind of very, very briefly saw flames on the sidewalk and that was all I could see” as she pulled up to the intersection off Whyte Avenue, Venne said. “Then there was a man standing on the sidewalk with a jerry can in his hand and there was a bunch of people around him with their arms up trying to calm him down and before I knew what was happening he turned around. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content “Inside me I went, ‘No, don’t you dare,’ and he poured gasoline all over my hood and lit it instantly.” Venne said she was in pure shock, but responded quickly by trying to catch wind while rounding the corner onto Whyte Avenue, which helped extinguish the flames. She then pulled over in front of a shop and poured water over the hood with help from her friend in the passenger seat. Edmonton “I basically fell to my knees and had a little cry because I was just in shock,” she said. “It was very scary to be in my vehicle with my hood on fire.” With the fire going out quickly, Venne said there was very little damage to the SUV, just slight discolouration. A number of other vehicles in the area had fire damage to the front and rear wheels, but no one was injured. A car belonging to Spotlight’s wine representative for the menu tasting was lit on fire, slightly melting the front hood, Beaudoin said. The incident was completely out of the ordinary, Beaudoin said, and she is grateful there were no injuries because it could have been a lot worse. “It is scary that it’s that easy for somebody to attack,” she said. “Luckily, the fires went out right away.” duscook@postmedia.com twitter.com/dustin_cook3 Share this article in your social network Latest National Stories Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Edmonton Journal Headline News Sign up to receive daily headline news from the Edmonton Journal, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. Email Address There was an error, please provide a valid email address. By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300 Thanks for signing up! A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it please check your junk folder. The next issue of Edmonton Journal Headline News will soon be in your inbox. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again Trending<doc-sep>Edmonton police have arrested a suspect who allegedly damaged 13 vehicles Friday night on Whyte Avenue. According to police, a man was pouring gasoline on vehicle tires and lighting them on fire in the area of 104th Street and 82nd Avenue. The suspect was eventually apprehended by civilians in the Starbucks on the corner of Calgary Trail and Whyte Avenue. Police were called to the Starbucks location and took the man into custody. No one was injured in the incident. Edmonton firefighters also responded to calls in the area and were able to put out any fires. A video posted on Reddit shows the suspect setting an SUV on fire before going into a Starbucks where he is apprehended.<doc-sep>
EDMONTON—Ross Lockwood was astonished to see a man pouring gas on vehicles and lighting them on fire on Whyte Ave. Friday night before he was tackled by a citizen in a Hawaiian shirt and taken into custody by Edmonton police. The man lit 13 vehicles on fire, according to police. There are no reported injuries. Police say they responded to the report of multiple vehicles on fire in the popular dining district near 83 Ave. and 104 St. at around 8:40 p.m. In a video Lockwood took and posted to Reddit, a man can be seen pouring fuel on the hood of a vehicle before lighting it on fire. The driver inside appears to pull onto a side street, and the fire extinguishes shortly thereafter. Lockwood said he saw people pleading with the man, dressed in all black, to stop. So he decided to record the incident for evidence. “It was just astonishing,” Lockwood said. “You could hear people in the video saying, ‘Why is nobody stopping him?’” In the video, the man crosses Whyte Ave. before throwing a jerry can in the air and his backpack on the ground. But bystanders quickly decided to take matters into their own hands, Lockwood said. Several people started following the man to try and stop him, and he seems to take notice and ducks into a local Starbucks near 82 Ave. and Calgary Trail. At that time, a citizen in a Hawaiian shirt follows the man into the Starbucks, followed by another man with a two-by-four piece of wood. The man in the colourful shirt, who has been dubbed “Hawaiian shirt guy” in the initial Reddit thread, wrestles the culprit to the ground as surprised-looking patrons watch. “That guy in the Hawaiian shirt is an absolute hero,” Lockwood said. The man with the wooden two-by-four speaks in a heated manner to the man as he is on the ground. Police arrive shortly after and arrest the man. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Lockwood said the man was speaking incoherently before he was taken down. He did hear the man say something along the lines of “I’m not here to hurt you” at one point. “He did seem like he had an agenda, but it was hard to tell from anything he was saying,” Lockwood said. Lockwood said the whole incident unfolded within the span of around five minutes. He was amazed at how many people rallied together to stop the man before any more serious damage was caused. He said people were running into restaurants, grabbing fire extinguishers and following the man closely to put the fires out. “People were on it out there,” Lockwood said. “It was just amazing to see the response of all the Samaritans.” Police say charges are pending and police continue to investigate. Read more about: