Brian J. White And His Neighbors Thwart Suspected Arsonist Amid LA Fires

Brian J. White got into his action hero bag as he stopped a suspected arsonist amid the Los Angeles fires. Deadline reports that the Criminal Minds actor sprung into action on Thursday (Jan. 9), apprehending a suspect who was allegedly wielding a blowtorch in the Woodland Hills. White detailed to the outlet how he and his neighbors made a citizen arrest, holding the person there until the police were able to get to the scene.

White recalled seeing nearby fires from their house and deciding that it was time to pack up and get his family out of the area. However, everything changed when White heard something happening outside his home, and found his neighbor yelling at someone trying to light the actor’s trash on fire.

“We were packing up, and all of a sudden, out front of our house, I hear screaming, ‘Put it down, put it down,’” White recalled. “I thought somebody had a gun, and my neighbor was in duress, so my daughter went and hid in the closet, and I went running upstairs to go outside and help my neighbor.”

Brian, along with two neighbors, caught up with the suspect and then cornered them, asking questions and trying to gather information about his motive. After the suspect became more aggressive, White then explained that they were going to move in for a “citizen’s arrest.”

“He then became very aggressive about being asked what he was doing here,” White added. “He said he was looking for a place to hang out. And we’re like, well, this isn’t the place to hang out… Two of our neighbors work on cars in the garages; they had zip ties in one garage and a little bit of rope in another garage. So we took him down, detained him, and waited for the police. Sixteen cruisers showed up within about seven minutes of us calling, and the rest is on the news.”

The video of the incident, shared with LiveNOW from FOX, backs up White’s claims, showing the neighbors descending upon the suspect and apprehending him. And while the cops did late appear on the scene to make the arrest, the outlet reports that LAPD didn’t have enough evidence to arrest the person for arson, so he was instead arrested for felon probation violation.

As for Brian J. White, he insisted that his acting resumé working on projects like Ghost Whisperer, Dirty, The Shield, 12 Rounds, and others had him do training that, unknowingly, prepared him for moments like this.

“We needed to find out if he had any weapons on him, if we were in danger,” White continued. “We tried to stay calm, and then when it got physical, we tried to make sure that it was quick, which is why we asked for other neighbors to help us with ropes and zip ties. So yeah, I am thankful for everybody that’s ever trained me in police work and fire work and fighting to be prepared for moments like that.”

“I thought he had a gun when I ran right out there. My wife and daughter were scared, for that reason my daughter went and hid in the closet, she was crying, we had to talk her down for hours,” White recalls. “My first thought was, whatever’s going on out there, it’s not going to affect my wife and my daughter, I’m going to take care of it. It makes me feel good that that was my instant reaction. It makes me feel good that that was the reaction of all the neighbors that helped and responded. And it makes me feel safer in our community to know that the people in this neighborhood care about each other, not just themselves. They’re willing to take on a little harm or risk for the greater good. And that’s what community and family and extended family is about.”

Watch the video above.

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