Serial Arsonist Linked To More Than 20 Fires Across NYC, Police Say

BROOKLYN, NY — A Brooklyn man ignited chaos across two boroughs in just three hours, allegedly setting more than 20 fires at homes, churches, and parked cars, federal prosecutors say.

Bryan Oviedo, 32, was arrested Monday and charged in connection with the spree, which included a fire at a Clinton Hill church and an attempted arson at an occupied apartment building in Prospect Heights, officials said.

Surveillance footage from the early morning of Aug. 20 shows Oviedo riding the G train and wandering through Clinton Hill and Prospect Heights in a white top and skirt, carrying a trash bag as fires began to ignite across the area, prosecutors said.

“While New Yorkers were asleep in the dead of night, Bryan Oviedo allegedly put them and their neighbors in grave danger by lighting their residences and a church on fire,” NYPD Commissioner Tisch said. “Our homes and houses of worship stand as walls of safety for every community, and I am thankful for the quick response of the police officers and firefighters who put their lives at risk to contain these flames.”

According to surveillance footage cited in the complaint, Oviedo is seen leaning over a trash can beneath the columns of a historic church at 520 Clinton Avenue, setting it ablaze and causing significant damage.

In another, flames erupt on the porch of a residential building at 870 Pacific Street just moments after Oviedo—still in his distinctive outfit—walks into frame, officials said.

Between 5:15 and 5:45 a.m., cameras at the Clinton-Washington Avenues C train station and inside a C train captured a clear image of the suspect’s face, according to federal prosecutors. Investigators reviewed that footage alongside surveillance from multiple fire scenes, ultimately linking the incidents and identifying the same individual in each.

An NYPD officer who had previously arrested Oviedo for property damage in July 2025 recognized him in the subway video and identified him as the same individual seen near several of the arsons, police said.

Oviedo was arrested in Brooklyn on Saturday and was scheduled to appear in court Monday afternoon. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 20 years in prison.