Arsonist who tried to burn down lesbian bar arrested on camera hours later

Police in San Diego, California have arrested 38-year-old Ryan Habrel for allegedly starting a fire on the patio of Gossip Grill, one of the nation’s 21 few remaining lesbian and queer women’s bars. The fire occurred at 12:30 a.m. early Friday morning. It injured no one and didn’t damage the inside of the bar.

Video cameras reportedly captured Habrel setting the fire. The day after it occurred, the bar’s owner, Moe Girton, spotted Habrel in the area and contacted police, leading to his immediate arrest. Girton expressed regret, saying that Habrel is well known in the area as a homeless person with a history of mental illness and drug addiction.

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Girton came to the bar as soon as she learned about the arson. The fire mostly destroyed seating, an overhead awning, and outside decorations on the patio, damaging $10,000 worth of property, KNSD-TV reported. Firefighters arrived quickly and extinguished the fire by 12:39 a.m.

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Girton posted a video of the fire on the bar’s Facebook and Instagram pages. At the time of the fire, two employees were inside of the grill, closing the business down. Police initially suspected that the fire’s origin was electrical, but Girton said that the patio’s electricity was turned off when the blaze started.

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“Every inch of this place is on camera, so we did have footage,” she explained. In fact, as the station interviewed her in front of the bar on Friday afternoon, someone notified her that the suspect captured on camera was walking in the area. Girton immediately contacted police, and the news station caught his arrest on camera.

“Habrel was arrested and booked into jail for arson to a commercial structure and the use of an accelerant,” San Diego Police Department Lt. Adam T. Sharki said. “The investigation is ongoing and there is no indication at this time that this is hate-crime-related.”

The business opened for business as usual the following morning. It was “inundated” with customers who wanted to make sure that the business and its employees were okay. Customers encouraged one another to show support for the bar — what some called a “safe space” — by coming in and having a beer, to not let fear win.