Andrew Miguel/Flickr)
One week after he started a fire at his home that resulted in the death of a family member, Mike Rifkin posted a picture of the charred, gutted space on his Facebook wall. The page went viral, with people sharing the message of unity and giving Rifkin’s family some much-needed support.
When the story first broke, Rifkin’s mother went on the Today Show to share the news but was interrupted by the host when she learned her son had been arrested and charged.
“I know about an incident at my son’s house,” she said on the Today Show. “And I get it, but I’ve never had a family member die because of this act. I’ve never had a family member die because of some drug, or a gun, or some other action they should not have been taken. I get it. I’ve had people die that I’m sure didn’t do anything to nobody. But that’s not my daughter.”
The family got a lot of support from commenters on Facebook and other social media, and Rifkin posted a picture to his Facebook wall that he said had been taken with his mom’s hand. From that picture, we’re able to piece together Rifkin’s story.
Rifkin, who grew up in the Bay Area and is now 30 and living in Dallas, had gotten his first brush with guns around age 11, and he said he “snuck [his parents] gun with him.” In 2009, he became a gun collector — he has rifles, handguns, shotguns and a shotgun.
Rifkin said he bought the second handgun he’d purchased online a couple months later because he had “found a shotgun gun that wouldn’t do anything, so I bought one and it worked like a charm. I couldn’t put it down.” Then he found a firearm.
About a month ago, Rifkin learned the house at 3328 Foothill Blvd. where he and his family live was on fire. He went inside to try to find out what happened. He says he saw flames.
“I started running and I saw firefighters, and I heard them saying over there: ‘Stay in one spot until I’m done talking, and tell me something. We’re going to get the fire out.’ They pulled out a ladder — I’m sitting on the ladder with my gun — and they just started