Police say man believed demonic presence in walls caused him to start a fire

Man allegedly on drugs thought the "devil was in the walls" of his house

The neighborhood on N. Irving Avenue in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was the scene where Lue Xiong allegedly set his house on fire, as indicated on Google Maps. Lue Xiong, pictured in the inset photo, was arrested by Minneapolis police on March 22.

Allegedly, Lue Xiong’s wife informed the police that her husband had shot her and set their house ablaze because he was convinced that “the devil was in the walls.”

Police reported that Lue Xiong, aged 31, was apprehended after he started a fire in the family home where he resided with his wife and their six children. According to a probable cause statement, he not only shot his wife, causing a nonfatal injury to her leg, but also made threats to harm their 8-month-old baby. During police interrogation, the wife disclosed that her husband had been using “illegal narcotics” and was under the delusion that “the devil was in the walls.”

The probable cause statement said that the wife, who was not named, told police that Xiong “was talking to walls, believed the devil was in the walls, tearing walls apart, was not sleeping” and had allegedly been using drugs “before and after the shooting incident.” She also told police that her husband had exhibited this kind of behavior in the past and had fired his gun at the walls.

The statement says that on the morning of the fire, Xiong accused his wife of cheating on him and didn’t believe her when she denied the accusation. According to the statement, this argument took place while he was holding an AK-47 assault rifle. Xiong allegedly threatened to shoot his wife if she didn’t tell him the truth, then shot her in the leg and refused to let her call for help. The statement said he forced their two oldest children to tend to her leg wound.

Xiong’s wife told police that she didn’t call 911 herself earlier because her husband had allegedly threatened to shoot any responding officers, and “she didn’t want that to happen.”

As Xiong’s wife lay in bed after being shot, her children alerted her to a fire in the home’s laundry room in the basement. The family, with the exception of Xiong, fled the house.

According to the statement, officers found Xiong at the scene and placed him into custody. While searching the scene, they reportedly found “a gray beanie containing a black and gray sock which contained a glass bubble pipe inside of it as well as a baggie containing a white crystalline substance inside.” Also found at the scene, per the statement, was evidence that the fire was allegedly intentionally set, including “a water bottle with an improvised squirt hole in the cap that smelled strongly of gasoline.”

Xiong’s wife was taken to the hospital for her leg injury, which required surgery. According to the statement, she told police that in the days leading up to the fire, Xiong allegedly shot through the walls of the house because he thought a “demon” was coming through them. She stated that when her husband “hears a noise from outside, he will carry his gun around the house and fire into walls.”

She also told police that her husband repeatedly told her that their 8-month-old baby “has the devil inside him,” and that he “nearly pointed the gun at the baby” before the couple’s oldest son stopped him.

Xiong was arrested and charged with six felonies and one misdemeanor including two counts of arson, assault with a dangerous weapon, and domestic violence. He is scheduled to appear in court on April 24.

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