The house of an alleged mentally challenged man who is accused of chopping a man to death, in Red Hills, St Andrew on Friday morning, was set on fire by residents.

The house, however, was not destroyed as the blaze was put out by firefighters who were quickly on the scene.

Superintendent Shereika Service, head of the St Andrew North Police Division, confirmed that the accused man’s house was lit by residents and said as a result the police are still in the community.

“It was not fully burnt but I do not know the extent of the damage,” Superintendent Service told OBSERVER ONLINE. “We are maintaining a presence in the area.”

She declined to give an update on the status of the accused man, saying “we are conducting investigations into the matter, and he is still in police custody at this moment.”

The Half-Way Tree fire brigade confirmed that a unit from the station was early on the scene and quickly brought the blaze under control.

Phillip Bennett, a construction worker of Walker’s Hill in Red Hills, was chopped to death after being attacked by a machete-wielding man.

Police report that Bennett was walking along the roadway around 7 am when he was attacked and chopped in the region of the neck by the accused, near Red Hills Square.

The accused man reportedly also attacked other persons, including school children, before he was apprehended by police officers.