Argument Over Cheez-Its Leads To Son Setting His Mother’s Home On Fire
An argument over a box of Cheez-It crackers almost ended in tragedy after a woman’s adult son set her home ablaze, CBS46 reports. Two brothers and their 61-year-old mother were arguing over the snack crackers in the mother’s home on Creekford Drive in Lithonia, Georgia. Lithonia is in the eastern part of DeKalb County.
According to police, that’s when one of the brothers locked both of the other individuals inside of the house before beginning to pour gasoline on the front steps. He then set the gasoline, and subsequently the home, ablaze with both his elderly mother and brother locked inside.
The fire-starter, who has been identified only by his relationship to the victims and his age (32), was drunk at the time of the dispute, police have said.
The trapped brother was forced to carry his mother to safety, ultimately lowering her down from the second-floor window.
The Dekalb County Fire Rescue Department joined police at the scene in response to what they described as a domestic-related incident.
“PD and fire responded to a domestic-related incident this morning,” Dekalb County Fire Rescue Department said. “Once fire arrived on scene, crews saw smoke coming from the home.”
No injuries were reported at the time and at this time, what charges, if any, the man may face are unclear. Arson would be one possibility, but due to the specifics of the circumstances, including a presumed intent to cause harm, other charges may also come into play in Dekalb County.
There’s an Amazon Dash button for Cheez-It crackers now https://t.co/2XWyRJm5Au
— TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) October 26, 2016
Social media platforms were quickly abuzz following the news due to the bizarre inciting factor of the crime coupled with a general enthusiasm for Cheez-It crackers across the internet.
“It better have been about Duoz,” one Twitter user mused, referring to Cheez-It Duos, a recent variant in the Cheez-It lineup. Duoz contain two different cracker varieties, one parmesan and one sharp cheddar, in a single cracker box.
“Cheez-it’s are fire when you’re hammered,” read an unintentionally prescient tweet from 2018, perhaps foreshadowing the unlikely combination of fire, drunkenness, and Cheez-Its that would later coalesce in a dangerous perfect storm on a dark evening in Dekalb County.
Although the motivation behind the pyromaniac-inclined brother presumably ran deeper than cheesy snack crackers, it is worth noting that those intensely concerned about their Cheez-It supply do have options available to avoid running low. As Techcrunch reports, there is now an Amazon Dash button available for the popular snack, making it easier than ever to keep cupboards stocked.
