A Thanksgiving dinner in Beach Park turned into a near-tragedy after police say a 21-year-old Chicago man set his family’s home on fire following a blowout argument with relatives.
According to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Erik J. Crump was already stirring chaos when deputies first arrived Thursday night. He was “antagonizing and arguing with” his family, but officers managed to calm things down. Crump “agreed to keep to himself,” and for a moment it looked like the situation might settle.
It didn’t.
Not long after deputies cleared the scene, emergency calls came in reporting that the same home was now on fire. Investigators later learned Crump had been told he was being kicked out after the earlier argument. He left, came back, and went straight to his bedroom—where authorities believe he lit the fire—before slipping out again.
“Moments later, the family saw smoke filling the home and immediately evacuated,” the sheriff’s office said. The fire tore through the house, leaving major damage but, incredibly, no injuries.
Firefighters arriving on the scene spotted a man matching Crump’s description standing about a block away, holding a knife. He bolted, setting off a manhunt that eventually ended when authorities tracked him to a local storage facility. Police dogs had earlier followed his scent to a dead-end, “indicating he left the area in a vehicle,” according to officials.
Crump was arrested and now faces charges of aggravated arson and residential arson.
Sheriff John D. Idleburg didn’t mince words about how close the night came to disaster. “It’s nothing short of a blessing that nobody was injured or killed in this senseless act,” he said, adding that while families across the area were celebrating, “our dispatchers were answering the call, and our deputies were out responding to them.”
He praised the speed and teamwork of first responders: “Our team, along with our fire service partners, responded within minutes, secured the area, helped ensure the fire was extinguished, and took this individual into custody before anyone else was put at risk. I am incredibly proud of their professionalism and their commitment to keeping our community safe every hour of every day.”
As of Friday, it wasn’t clear whether Crump had obtained a lawyer.
