Five arrested in Cape firebombing case

By Jillian Jorgensen, Globe Correspondent

Five people were arrested Thursday after a Molotov cocktail was thrown through a bedroom window in Hyannis, setting fire to a room where several young children were sleeping, police and fire officials said.

The fire consumed the building, but nobody was hurt.

As flames closed in, the children were taken from the room by three adults, all of whom escaped along with another child, after the house was fire-bombed at about 2:40 a.m., said Barnstable police Sergeant Kevin Tynan.

State Police arrested Andrew Nickerson, 19, of Mashpee; Joshua Debonise, 19, of Mashpee; Tiffeny Mason, 20, of Hyannis; Victor Mason, 20, of East Boston; and Jose Reyes, 22, of Boston.

They are facing charges of attempted murder, arson of a dwelling, and possessing a bomb or explosive, said Trooper Eric Benson, a State Police spokesman.

The blaze destroyed the apartment on Hiramar Road, where Dennis Edwards, 32, lived with his 4-year-old son, Tynan said.

Police had responded to the apartment Wednesday night at about 11 p.m., after an argument between Edwards and four male acquaintances, Tynan said. The four men arrested yesterday were involved in that argument, he said.

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