The 5-year-old had been arguing with his mother, police said.
A little boy angry at his mother set his family's Ohio home on fire, leaving it uninhabitable, according to authorities.
The 5-year-old had argued with his mom, Bellaire Police Chief Dick Flanagan told InsideEdition.com Wednesday. "So the kid says, 'F*** you, I'll burn down the house,'" Flanagan said.
The mother went shopping, he said. "Next thing you know, the house burns down," the chief said. Officers are still trying to determine if the child was home alone when the blaze broke out.
Witnesses told investigators they saw the boy running from the burning home, carrying a lighter.
The boy's 12-member family has a long history with law enforcement, Flanagan said. They had lived in a duplex with relatives occupying other side. All are now temporarily staying in motels, he said.
The structure is a total loss, he said, and will have to be razed. The family has not been publicly named.
Police are working with local prosecutors to determine whether charges should be pressed against the boy. "We are looking at aggravated arson," Flanagan said. "There is precedent out there as far as charging a 5-year-old," he said.
The child will not be incarcerated, the chief said. The point in charging the child would be to "get him into some kind of court-ordered psychiatric treatment," he said.
"We are still investigating," he said. "Thank God nobody was hurt."
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