Man Catches 3-Year-Old Tossed From Window Of Burning Building, Rescues 10 More People

A Missouri man is being hailed a hero after he caught his 3-year-old neighbor whose mother tossed her out of a second-floor window after their apartment caught fire.

Arnez Merriweather, 30, kept calm when his apartment unit at the Hillvale Apartment complex on Selber Court, St. Louis, caught fire around 9: 30 a.m. Monday. He knew that people needed rescuing and decided to help.

"We (were) yelling at the windows to tell people to get out, and a woman came to the window and tossed the baby," Merriweather said to St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

As the smoke got thick for people to enter the building hallway, Merriweather asked the mother to drop the child into his arms. He safely caught the girl and then helped the mother as she climbed out of the window.

Tayliah Williams, 3, and her mother, Latisha Williams suffered minor injuries and received treatment in an ambulance.

After that, the management arrived with ladders. Using the ladders, Merriweather and others at the scene rescued at least 10 more people including children from the building.

"After we got the ladder situated, I went up to the third floor… grabbed the first baby, came back down. Went back up grabbed second baby, came back down," he said to KSDK.

St. Louis fire Capt. Garon Mosby applauded Merriweather’s quick thinking and his heroic rescue attempts.

"This young man was pretty instrumental in coordinating the rescues of several occupants," Mosby said to the Post-Dispatch. "It's good in the times we live in, when people are concerned with 'likes' and clicks and follows, that someone took action to better the situation," he added.

Merriweather spent several minutes talking to officials after the blaze was controlled. Firefighters treated five people on the scene. No one sustained serious injuries from the blaze.

When asked how he was able to rescue so many people, Merriweather told KSDK, "I go off instincts. I calm down and just focus." He added that he always wanted to help people and is proud of his actions.

The fire allegedly started in a vacant unit. Arson investigators have started a probe, according to authorities.