00:00 The crackling sound of fire eating through several vehicles on the HSM Motors Limited
00:14 compound in Chase Village, Shagonas, early this morning in a suspected arson attack.
00:24 Investigators say the fire began around 3am and they will be relying on CCTV footage
00:29 in and around the area to see who were the perpetrators of this crime.
00:34 The owner of HSM Motors Limited, Mikhail Hussein, told TV6 News that he was certain it was a
00:40 deliberate attack based on CCTV footage and conversations his company had with fire officials.
00:47 On reviewing the footage, or even before reviewing the footage, the fire officers present were
00:53 able to say that it was definitely arson because of the nature of the fire and how it was spread
01:02 across the compound.
01:04 It was in multiple locations and there was no way for the fire to travel to those places
01:10 by itself.
01:11 When they checked the wood of the observatory, they determined there were 11 sources of ignition,
01:18 11 different places they were ignited and camera footage showed three individuals entering
01:25 the compound.
01:26 Hussein said he and his father rushed down to the compound and were able to remove several
01:30 of the cars from the location before the fire could spread further.
01:35 Fire officers from Shagonas who responded battled the flames frantically and were able
01:40 to extinguish the flames on the burning vehicles, which included a million dollar Tesla, within
01:44 half an hour.
01:46 Fourteen other vehicles, including a Mercedes-Benz C63 estimated cost $850,000, Toyota Yaris
01:53 Cross SUVs, Honda Vezels, a Toyota Supra and several other Nissan vehicles were burned
01:58 to the ground.
01:59 Hussein said the estimated losses were in the millions, but said they were still in
02:03 the process of evaluating the exact amount, which included damage to two buildings.
02:09 This morning, Express photographer Jumin Crookshank captured these images of several high-end
02:13 vehicles being removed from the compound, as HSM announced in a statement on Facebook
02:20 that they are temporarily closed after what the company termed a "targeted arson attack".
02:26 Hussein dismisses speculation of his business being targeted due to extortion and said he
02:30 was baffled by this arson attack.
02:33 We have never had any experience like that.
02:36 Even our colleagues in the same industry, at least in our area, have never experienced
02:44 that sort of... from anyone.
02:49 So no, this is new and this is very strange.
02:52 Marc Besant, TV6 News.
02:54 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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