An afternoon fire in east Baltimore left one person dead and police searching for a suspect, so they're not wasting any time and have labeled the man they say is responsible "public enemy number 1."
Police are still looking to answer a lot of questions in the case. They haven't determined what led it to happen, but said the end result is murder.
City firefighters were called to the 2300 block of E. Madison St. for a single alarm fire. Witnesses described hearing a loud noise immediately before seeing flames, a result, police believe, of a fire intentionally set by Alan Lorenzo Floyd, 59, while he was still inside the home.
The fire killed a 61-year-old woman whom was unable to escape. Her death marks the city's first homicide in 2016.
In announcing the identification of the wanted man, Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis minced no words, calling the suspect "brutal, ruthless, merciless, sadistic and cruel."
"Pick one," he said in front of reporters Friday night.
Police are not releasing her identity pending to the notification of next of kin.
Police said Floyd is known to law enforcement in east Baltimore and that he may have lived in the home at one point.
They weren't able to specify a relationship between the victim and the person whom escaped.
"We will make sure everyone knows exactly who you are," Davis said, speaking directly to the suspect, "and exactly what you did, not only to the victim, but to this city."
Police said another person, whom they are not identifying, was also inside the home but was able to escape. The woman, they said, was not the intended target.
City police spokesman TJ Smith said Floyd used "some sort of accelerant, doused the place with that accelerant, [and] blocked, or barricaded a door."
"This appears to be some sort of ongoing dispute between the suspect and possibly another party" at the home, Smith said. "But it's a tragedy, nonetheless."
The homicide comes after the city reached the second highest murder total ever recorded in 2015.
Davis Davis promised a strong beginning to 2016.
"Alan Lorenzo Floyd is a ruthless, heartless killer, and he needs to be behind bars, and that needs to happen now," Davis said.
If you see, or know Floyd, you're asked to call 9-11 right away.
