Man appears to set home's Halloween wreath on fire in El Mirage

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EL MIRAGE, Ariz. - A confusing crime is captured on a Ring doorbell camera: A shirtless man appears to set fire to a front-door wreath.

El Mirage Police say they are aware of this incident and are looking for a suspect.

It’s unclear why this happened or what kind of possible motives were at play, but a family says it’s left them frightened.

"A lot goes through your head after something like that happens," Brittney Thee said.

The Thees say they were sound asleep when their door camera captured the scene.

A stranger outside. Their front door catches fire.

"At first it was immediate fear. That this really happened. And once I saw the video footage, I realized this really did happen. Someone really did set this on fire," Tyler Thee said.

He says it happened around 5 a.m.

The recording shows a man without a shirt and shoes walking up, ringing the doorbell, then a burst of light reflects on the man’s body.

Moments later, flames begin to flicker.

The man appears to stand there watching it burn for minutes, before eventually walking away.

The Thees say they didn’t realize this happened until hours later.

"We woke up at 9, 10 in the morning. My husband opened the bedroom door and was like, ‘Somebody set our house on fire,’ and I was like, ‘Excuse me?’" Brittney said.

Soot and burn marks are etched into the front of their home and a special decoration is burnt to a crisp.

"We had a Halloween wreathe because we like Halloween stuff, and that’s where it was before someone put it on fire," Tyler said.

While there’s a sense of relief, there’s still a feeling they can’t quite shake.

"It just burned itself out, and thankfully it didn’t burn the house," Tyler said.

"My peace of mind is just gone," Brittney said.

For now, they’re beefing up security on their home, and telling their neighbors to keep an eye out.

"We are thankful that we are lucky as we are, and I just hope he’s not successful next time he tries. Either on our house or anybody else's," Tyler said.

If you know anything, call El Mirage Police at 623-500-3000

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