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Man kicked out of south side Milwaukee bar tries to burn it down

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arson surveillance.JPG
Posted at 9:06 PM, Mar 28, 2019
and last updated 2019-03-29 07:11:25-04

MILWAUKEE — A man asked to leave a south side Milwaukee bar is now suspected of coming back to set it on fire. The whole incident was captured on surveillance video.

Investigators say the suspect went to Sollazo's 703 Club Saturday night around 11:30 p.m. to try to drink, but came back with a gas can to try to burn it down.

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Suspect in arson

"It could have been awful," said owner Theresa Sollazo.

Sollazo and her husband said the suspect came in with some friends who were underage.

"My husband says, 'you can't be in here,' and one gal says, 'I'm not going to drink.' Well, no, you have to be 21 to be in a tavern," said Sollazo.

She said even though they were not happy about it, the group left without a problem. Or at least that's what they thought until the fireball happened.

"A half an hour later my husband is smelling smoke, 'what the heck?,' opens the door, flames are shooting out," she said.

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Surveillance video of arson with suspect running away.

Fortunately, her husband put it out pretty quickly with a fire extinguisher.

Milwaukee Police and fire investigators checked the security video. That's when they see the same man the owners asked to leave come back. This time he was by himself carrying a red gas can. He even held his hood to try to cover his face as he threw gas all over the front of the building and lit it up with people inside.

"It could have been very serious," said Sollazo. "People could have been hurt. I don't know if he realizes what he did. He just ruined his life over nothing."

The suspect was last seen running away from the bar.

Milwaukee Police ask if you recognize him to call 414-935-7360.