Firefighters from the St. Petersburg Police Department responded to reports of a home on fire at approximately 5:30 a.m. on Friday, May 19, 2023.
The fire was reported at a home located at 2101 1/2 30th Avenue North in St. Petersburg.
Arriving crews encountered smoke and flames coming from the structure and began to set up to flow water on the structure and determine if the home was occupied. During the course of their assessment, the resident, Phillip McKinney, aged 52, approached the firefighters and made a startling admission—he confessed to intentionally setting the house ablaze. McKinney’s confession left the responders perplexed and concerned about the safety of any potential occupants.
To ensure the situation remained under control, officers from the St. Petersburg Police Department were already en route to the scene. They were primarily tasked with managing the traffic flow and ensuring public safety. As the officers arrived, McKinney approached one of them, wielding an open pocket knife. In a threatening manner, he pointed the knife at the officer while repeatedly striking her cruiser window with his fist, demanding that she exit the vehicle.
Despite repeated commands to drop the weapon, McKinney obstinately refused to comply. Matters escalated further when he began self-inflicting harm by cutting his own neck with the knife. In order to neutralize the immediate threat to himself and others, the officer resorted to deploying a Taser on McKinney.
Following his apprehension, McKinney was promptly transported to a local hospital for medical evaluation and treatment. During his hospitalization, he reiterated his earlier statement to the officers, confessing, “I set the house on fire, and when I did, there was no one else inside.”
Authorities are currently conducting an investigation to uncover the motives behind McKinney’s actions and to ascertain the full circumstances surrounding the specific cause of the fire.
McKinney is facing charges of Arson in the first degree and Improper Exhibition of a Dangerous Weapon.