An “Obsessed Stalker” Allegedly Set Cars on Fire at Anime Con Hotel

On Saturday night, in the middle of annual con Anime Los Angeles, someone set fire to a car, starting a blaze outside the Azure Hotel and Suites. The fire engulfed seven cars in total, and thankfully no injuries were reported; a suspect has since been arrested.

The man was identified by Julia Moreno Jenkins, whose car was the one set on fire, via the hotel’s CCTV cameras. A GoFundMe has been established to help Jenkins with the cost of a new car.

Jenkins said her car was “targeted and set on fire by an obsessed stalker.” A friend of Jenkins, Bonnie Gordon, later tweeted thoughts on why Jenkins’s car was set on fire.

While he has not been formally charged or convicted, the signs do point towards to the suspect deliberately targeting Jenkins, since security footage allegedly shows him dumping two cans of gasoline on her car before lighting a match. The hotel attached to the parking lot was evacuated in the middle of the night; as one of the hotels associated with Anime Los Angeles, it was full of guests for the con. Only property was damaged during the fire, but lives could have been endangered had it spread to the hotel.

It’s time for men to step back and realize that behavior and stories like this are reasons why women feel unsafe. The fact that one of the responses to this story is telling women to get used to “mean words” and “threats” is repulsive. No one should have to fear for their safety after rejecting someone or for sharing their fears. Women should be safe in their homes, at comic cons, and everywhere else.

This story is just another in a long line of stories of men taking rejection badly. We’ll probably hear more after this one too. Thankfully, no one was harmed, and you can support Jenkins at the GoFundMe here. Stay safe out there, Suevians.

(via Cosplay Kotaku, image: screengrabs/ABC)

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Kate Gardner

Kate (they/them) says sorry a lot for someone who is not sorry about the amount of strongly held opinions they have. Raised on a steady diet of The West Wing and classic film, they are now a cosplayer who will fight you over issues of inclusion in media while also writing coffee shop AU fanfic for their favorite rare pairs.