‘A violent crime’: Person caught on camera torching cars outside DeKalb County home

A DeKalb County couple is looking for answers after surveillance video captured someone dousing two of their vehicles with a liquid and setting them on fire outside their home.

Billye and Keith Green said the fire happened just after 1 a.m. on Nov. 1 at the home where they have lived for more than 20 years.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

“Something woke me up,” Billye Green said. “I got up, walked down the hall, looked out the window and saw the cars on fire.”

Keith Green said he ran outside with a fire extinguisher but quickly realized how intense the flames were.

“Billye yelled fire and I came running out with the fire extinguisher, which quickly ran out because the flames were 15 feet high over my truck,” he said.

Billye believes her husband’s quick response may have prevented the flames from spreading to their home.

“If he hadn’t went out with the fire extinguisher, it would’ve caught the house on fire,” she said.

Surveillance video shows a person carrying what appears to be a gas can and pouring a substance on Billye’s car and Keith’s work truck before setting both vehicles on fire.

The couple said another surveillance video provided by a neighbor shows a car speeding away after the fire.

TRENDING STORIES:

• Copper stolen from south Georgia college
• 15-year-old found dead inside abandoned Georgia home; 4 charged
• Man left dead dog in crate outside estranged wife’s boyfriend’s home

Investigators are looking into the case. The Greens said they don’t know why they were targeted.

“For something this vicious and intentional, I feel like he really probably had the wrong house,” Billye said.

The fire destroyed the family’s work truck, which they use for their small business. Keith said they expect to pay significant expenses to replace the vehicles in addition to dealing with insurance costs.

He also wants whoever is responsible to understand how dangerous the fire was.

“Whether he thought it was something that was just fun, it was a violent crime because had it been minutes later, we may have been trapped in our home,” Keith said.

Despite what happened, Billye said the couple is thankful they escaped without being hurt.

“The Lord is a very central part of our life, so we had that peace of knowing he was taking care of us,” she said.

Georgia Arson Control is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]