McKEESPORT, Pa. — A McKeesport man was arrested in New York's Brooklyn borough over the weekend, accused of targeting a rabbi by setting fire to a house.
People who live the in McKeesport neighborhood where Menachem "Matthew" Karelefsky lives say you never know what someone could be capable of and are shocked as to what the 41-year-old man allegedly did over the weekend.
Police in New York say the Mckeesport man intentionally set the four-alarm fire that injured more than a dozen people, and destroyed three homes.
They say he’s been renting a room in a house along Anderson Street in Mckeesport for the last eight months.
Carlos Rubero’s adult-age children live across the street from Karelefsky.
Police alledge Karelefsky had a vendetta against the rabbi living in one of the Brooklyn homes.
He even has this tattoo on his arm: "Never let go of the hatred. Kill Rabbi Max."
“They’re just happy he’s in jail I guess cause he made it back here. There’s no telling what he did. Ya know what I mean,” Ruberio said.
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Rubero said Karelefsky appeared troubled, rarely spoke to anyone and would often sit outside for hours watering plants and interacting with animals.
He told Channel 11 he saw Karelefsky boarding a bus this past Wednesday and then not again until he appeared on the news.
He said the entire neighborhood is on edge, but grateful no one was killed.