Man says he set fire to Myrtle Beach attraction to cleanse world, ‘release the devil’
A man wanted for a crime in another state was arrested in Myrtle Beach after police say he set fire to a popular tourist attraction.
Police say that Daniel Huff, of Catlettsburg, Kentucky, set fire to Ripley’s Haunted Adventure on Ocean Boulevard on Saturday night.
Huff told police officers he was “cleansing the world by burning the synagogue,” according to an incident report from the Myrtle Beach Police Department.
Huff, 37, was booked into J. Reuben Long Detention Center about noon Monday. Huff is charged with arson and being a fugitive. His bond for arson is set at $350,000. He has no bond set for the fugitive charge.
In South Carolina, a person can be held as a fugitive if charged in another state with a crime carrying a penalty of a year or more in prison.
Myrtle Beach police responded to the fire about 8 p.m. Saturday, after an officer heard people shouting “fire” and saw flames, according to the incident report. A witness provided an officer with a description of the suspect, who the officer saw leaving the scene of the fire, the report states.
According to an arrest warrant from Myrtle Beach police, a witness saw Huff pouring a can of gas over the walls of Ripley’s then starting a fire with a lighter. The witness stated that they heard Huff yell out, “I’m going to burn this place down, release the devil,” according to the warrant.
City and private security camera footage showed Huff pouring gas and starting a fire, the warrant states.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division Bomb Squad and the Myrtle Beach Fire Department responded to the fire Saturday night.
Pablo Chavez, General Manager of Ripley’s Aquarium and Attractions in Myrtle Beach, said the damage sustained in the fire was minimal and mostly cosmetic.
Chavez said the fire did not damage the main part of the building. It was the building’s breezeway between Withers Alley and Ocean Boulevard that caught fire, Chavez said.
“Our first-responders jumped right on it. They were great,” Chavez said. “I appreciate the prompt response from the fire department and the police department.”
The Herald-Dispatch in Huntington, West Virginia reported in August 2014 that Huff was sentenced to two years in prison in Catlettsburg, Kentucky for criminal possession of a forged document.
This story was originally published June 15, 2021 at 6:58 AM.
