MINNEAPOLIS — A 23-year-old Minneapolis man faces charges in relation to a fire that engulfed the Lola on the Lake eatery on Bde Maka Ska.
Nouh Omar Elmi is facing one felony count charge of negligent fires, which caused around $2,000,000 in damages to the restaurant, according to a criminal complaint from the Hennepin County Attorney's Office.
The criminal complaint states:
On May 16, 2019, neighbors called 911 to report Lola on the Lake was on fire.
When firefighters arrived, they noticed three trashcans next to the building. The roof above the trashcans was burned and sagging. Officials determined the fire originated behind the three trashcans, based on the movement of the fire.
Surveillance footage from Lola on the Lake and neighboring businesses show a man, identified by authorities as Elmi, and a woman sitting at a table close to the building at about 2:45 a.m. Elmi is seeing taking out a hookah and trying to light it at about 3 a.m. Eventually Elmi dumps the hookah embers behind the trash cans.
According to the Hennepin County Attorney's Office, the area was protected from the rain but not the wind. Eventually, the video showed flames at the base of a column.
A woman eventually came forward to authorities and identified herself as the woman in the surveillance footage. She also identified Elmi.
