We All Matter News 
Queens Community Reeling After Deadly Apartment Fire Kills Four, Including Toddler
A Queens neighborhood is mourning an unspeakable tragedy after a man was charged with setting a fire that tore through a three-story apartment building, killing four people — among them a 3-year-old child — and injuring seven others.
Prosecutors say 38-year-old Roman Amatitla of Maspeth deliberately ignited the March 16 blaze inside a residential building in Flushing. He has been arraigned on multiple charges, including eight counts of second-degree murder and first-degree arson. If convicted, he could face 25 years to life behind bars.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz described the fire as a horrific act of violence, emphasizing that investigators have found no evidence that Amatitla knew anyone in the building or had any connection to the families who lived there.
“Shockingly, the defendant had no known connection to the building or any of its occupants and selected the building at random,” Katz said in a statement.
A Devastating Chain of Events
According to prosecutors, Amatitla entered and exited the building several times in the hours before the fire. Authorities allege that he later went to a nearby gas station, where he purchased a beer, stole another, and took a pack of matches after declining to pay for a lighter.
Investigators say he then returned to the apartment building, lit a piece of paper on fire, and threw it onto trash near a stairwell. The flames quickly spread, filling the building with thick smoke and chaos.
During a court hearing, prosecutors alleged that Amatitla remained outside as the fire intensified, watching as residents attempted to escape. Assistant District Attorney Gabriel Reale told the court that the defendant looked on as people leaped from windows — “some of them living, one of them dying” — while drinking a beer.
The details have left many in the community shaken, struggling to comprehend the scale of the loss.
Lives Cut Short
Three victims — 3-year-old Sihan Yang, 49-year-old Chengri Cui, and 61-year-old Chie Shin Ming — were discovered inside the building and pronounced dead from smoke inhalation. A fourth victim, 64-year-old Hong Zhao, died at a hospital after suffering severe injuries, including broken bones and brain trauma, sustained when he jumped from a window in a desperate attempt to survive.
Four additional residents were hurt after leaping from the building to escape the smoke and flames. Another person was rescued from a second-story window by firefighters.
Two members of the New York City Fire Department were also injured during the rescue effort when a staircase collapsed beneath them, sending them into the basement. Both suffered burns and smoke inhalation while trying to save lives.
Community Grief and Accountability
Prosecutors have suggested that Amatitla “had to get his rage out on someone or something,” though no formal motive has been established. The randomness of the attack has deepened the pain for residents who now grapple with the reality that their neighbors were targeted without warning or reason.
As the case moves forward, community members are left demanding accountability and reflecting on broader questions about public safety, mental health intervention, and the resources needed to prevent senseless violence before it erupts.
Amatitla remains in custody following his arraignment before Criminal Court Judge Thomas Wright-Fernandez. He is scheduled to return to court on April 13.
For the families who lost loved ones — and for a city once again confronting the trauma of preventable tragedy — the path ahead will be long. In Queens, neighbors have begun the difficult work of grieving together, honoring the lives taken, and calling for justice in the face of devastating loss.
Four members of one community — including a toddler just beginning her life — are gone. Their memories now stand at the center of a city’s demand that such violence never be allowed to happen again.
