CINCINNATI — A grocery store in Winton Hills is damaged after someone intentionally set it on fire, according to the Cincinnati Fire Department.
A spokesperson with CFD said the fire has been determined to be arson, but investigators are still working to learn more about what happened.
Tree Tops Grocery owner Fesseha Tesfatsion said he was inside the store when someone firebombed it.
"I immediately came out of the office, I seen fire burning up in here and somehow over here also," he said while standing in the ruins of his store.
Tesfatsion said he tried to put the fire out while calling 911, but he lost all control of the blaze quickly.
"I called 911 and the fire department arrived within four minutes, but everything was down," he said.
The fire happened just after 10 p.m. Sunday night on Gwinnet Drive.
CFD said the fire caused $300,000 worth of damage to the building.
Tesfatsion said he was upset for his business, but he also cared for the people in the surrounding neighborhood for which his store is one of their few options.
He said he had no idea why someone would target his business.
"In here, many kids, they come in when they're hungry. They take stuff, they run away. It's understandable. But somebody throwing fire? Someone thinking like that? I don't think they're human," Tesfatsion said.
The owner said he and his brother have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into the store in the seven years they've owned it, and they plan to rebuild.
Testfatsion acknowledged that could take a long time as they work with insurance to manage damages.
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