A 28-year-old Gambian man has been charged in the United States after allegedly setting his car on fire during a domestic dispute with his wife and telling police that he wanted to be deported to The Gambia.
Sailou Mballow faces four criminal charges, including attempted arson of a building and criminal damage to property, following Tuesday’s incident on Frederick Street in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
According to a criminal complaint filed Thursday, Mballow’s wife contacted police on July 11, reporting that he had been behaving unusually since returning from The Gambia. She also told officers that Mballow had threatened to kill himself if police became involved.
On Tuesday, Mballow reportedly went to the Oshkosh Police Department and asked to be deported to The Gambia, citing problems with his wife. Police informed him that deportation was not within their authority.
Shortly after leaving the police station, officers were called to Mballow’s residence after a vehicle was reported to be on fire. The blaze spread to the house and also caused damage to a neighbouring property.
Police later spoke with Mballow about the incident.
According to the criminal complaint, Mballow told officers that he had used gasoline to set his vehicle on fire and had attempted to use burning clothing to ignite the residence.
“He said that he had been using articles of clothing in an attempt to light the residence on fire,” the complaint stated. “He explained that he had used gasoline to set the vehicle on fire and had lit the articles of clothing on fire using the fire from the car before attempting to transfer the fire to the residence.”
Mballow reportedly told police that he had taken what he considered to be the necessary steps as a husband and, after running out of options, wanted to kill himself.
He allegedly said he wanted to burn himself, his clothes, his car, the house and everything “to the ground” so that those involved could leave the area and “go somewhere in peace.”
No injuries were reported in the incident.
