Knife-wielding Florida man arrested after setting restaurant on fire with flaming propane tank: authorities

A Florida man was arrested after he allegedly carried a flaming propane tank through a Tampa restaurant and wielded a pair of knives when deputies tried to take him into custody.

The incident unfolded around 8:45 a.m. Tuesday after Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a report of an assault or battery in progress at a restaurant in Tampa, according to the sheriff’s office.

When deputies arrived, they found the restaurant filled with smoke and flames while a propane tank outside the building was also on fire, authorities said. Deputies said they spotted Rubiel Maceo Castillo, 53, still inside the restaurant holding two knives and repeatedly ordered him to drop the weapons and come outside.

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“Drop the knife now. Do it now,” one deputy can be heard yelling on bodycam video.

Working alongside Hillsborough County Fire Rescue crews, deputies extinguished the fire before taking Castillo into custody. He was booked into jail and is being held without bond.

Castillo allegedly grabbed two knives and charged at several people inside the restaurant before cutting a woman on the wrist when she tried to intervene, according to court documents obtained by WFLA-TV. Investigators alleged he then cut a gas line connected to a grill, grabbed a propane tank and ignited the fire.

Surveillance video released by the sheriff’s office appears to show a man carrying a flaming propane tank through the restaurant as flames spread inside the business. Body camera footage also captured deputies confronting the suspect before placing him under arrest and helping extinguish the blaze.

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Castillo has been charged with first-degree arson of an occupied structure, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, criminal mischief causing more than $1,000 in damage and other offenses, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

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While authorities have not publicly identified a motive, WFLA reported that investigators believe the incident stemmed from a domestic dispute involving Castillo and his wife.