MIAMI – A 63-year-old man was taken into custody Friday after attempting to set a fellow patient on fire inside HCA Florida Mercy Hospital, authorities confirmed in an arrest report Monday.
Miami police and fire rescue crews responded to a blaze on the fifth floor of the hospital, located at 3663 S. Miami Ave. in Coconut Grove, where flames erupted in two separate rooms.
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According to authorities, hospital staff informed Miami firefighters that Gary Yuen was unaccounted for and still inside one of the rooms when the incident was reported.
When medics found Yuen in the bathroom, police said he resisted detention, shouting that he wanted to die before losing consciousness from smoke inhalation.
Authorities said he was subsequently intubated for smoke-related injuries and the entire fifth floor was evacuated as a precaution.
Detectives with MPD’s Bureau of Fire, Arson, and Explosives later located a cigarette lighter in the bathroom of one of the rooms that Yuen entered, which they said is under investigation as a potential cause of the fire.
Surveillance footage reviewed by detectives showed Yuen exiting his room and entering another patient’s room shortly before the fire began, according to his arrest report.
The victim, who was receiving oxygen in one of the affected rooms, told investigators the man set two pillows ablaze with a lighter and attempted to ignite her hospital gown, the report stated.
Investigators said the victim managed to break free and flee the room, witnessing flames in both rooms as she escaped.
After being discharged from the hospital, police said Yuen was taken into custody Friday and transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where his bond was listed as “to be set” as of Monday afternoon.
Jail records show he is facing one count each of first-degree attempted murder, first-degree arson, and burglary with assault or battery.