Minneapolis Man Allegedly Sets House on Fire, One Killed
I still remember reading about that night in northeast Minneapolis, and it hit me how quickly life can change. On September 24, just before 11:20 p.m., firefighters were called to a house on the 900 block of 22nd Avenue Northeast. By the time they arrived, flames had already taken hold, and tragically, one man was found dead inside. Three others had to leave their homes, displaced and shaken.
What really makes this case stick with me is the witness accounts. Neighbors told police that they saw Andrew John Nietz at the victim’s unit hours before the fire started—around 8:30 p.m. Some remembered that Nietz had previously threatened to set the house on fire. Others spoke about the tension between him and the victim, noting that arguments often escalated when they drank together.
Even small details matter here. The victim’s car, parked outside the building earlier, disappeared during the fire and was later found in Minneapolis, connected to Nietz during a traffic stop. Phone location data also put him at the victim’s home from just after 8 p.m. until the fire broke out. Piece by piece, the picture that investigators painted is chilling—but it also shows how crucial every witness observation was in understanding what happened…