Girl, 6, Dies After Car Fire In Walmart Lot

FRIDLEY, MN — A 6-year-old girl has died following a car fire in a Walmart parking lot in Fridley. One arrest has been made following the Tuesday blaze.

The 9-year-old involved in the fire remains hospitalized, KSTP reports.

On Aug. 6 just after 7 a.m., Fridley police and fire departments responded to the Walmart (8450 University Ave NE) on a report of a vehicle fire in the lot.

Moments later, it was confirmed that a second vehicle had caught fire.

At the scene, authorities removed two children, ages 6 and 9, from one of the vehicles and transported them to Hennepin County Medical Center.

The children’s mother had been in Walmart at the time of the fire, according to police.

The man who owns the initial vehicle that caught fire — later identified by authorities as 70-year-old Roberto Lino Hibolito — is being held at Anoka County Jail on probable cause negligent fires.

Hibolito’s spouse, Nema Inocencio Hibolito, was in the vehicle when it caught fire but was able to safely get out of the vehicle, investigators said.

This incident remains under investigation by the Fridley Police Department, the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office, the Minnesota State Fire Marshall and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.