A Gwinnett County man is facing arson and animal cruelty charges Friday after a bizarre incident in which he allegedly killed a dog in his mother's apartment, set fire to the unit and then jumped in a lake.
Gwinnett fire Capt. Tommy Rutledge said firefighters responded to a fire at an apartment on Park Lake Lane near Norcross around 1 a.m. Friday after a neighbor smelled smoke.
The fire, which was confined to the kitchen of the apartment, was already out when fire crews arrived.
"There was no one inside the apartment when the fire department arrived," Rutledge said.
"In a bizarre twist, firefighters and police also discovered blood inside the apartment as well as a deceased dog," he said. "The dog appeared to have died from traumatic injuries and not from the fire."
As fire crews and police investigated, a man walked up to the apartment, unclothed, bloody and soaked with water, Rutledge said, adding that the man had signs of fresh, self-inflicted wounds on his body.
"Investigators believe the man left the apartment after killing the dog and setting the fire," Rutledge said. "He then jumped into a small lake on the complex property."
The man was detained and taken to Gwinnett Medical Center for treatment of his injuries. His name has not been released, but Rutledge said he is in his early 20s and was staying at the apartment with his mother, who was not at home at the time of the incident.
Rutledge said that as a precaution, the fire department's swift water rescue team and a police helicopter were brought in to check the small lake on the apartment property.
"This was done to make sure that no one else was with him when he entered the lake," he said. "Firefighters were initially concerned that children or other adults may have been involved, based on family photos and belongings inside the apartment."
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