A warehouse worker set fire to a Kimberly-Clark distribution center in Ontario early Tuesday morning, destroying $500 million worth of toilet paper, tissues and diapers while filming the arson and posting it to Instagram.
Chamel Abdulkarim, 29, of Highland, ignited pallets of paper products at the 1.2 million-square-foot facility around midnight April 7, according to federal prosecutors. The warehouse, located about 37 miles east of Los Angeles in San Bernardino County, stored Cottonelle toilet paper, Kleenex tissues, Huggies diapers and Viva paper towels.
The blaze reached the sixth alarm level, drawing 175 firefighters from four counties. The roof collapsed and flames were visible for miles, but all 20 employees inside evacuated safely with no injuries reported.
In videos posted to Instagram, Abdulkarim held a lighter to product pallets while repeatedly saying, “All you had to do was pay us enough to live.” His final video ended with, “There goes your inventory.”
Abdulkarim worked for NFI Industries, a third-party logistics company that operated the warehouse for Kimberly-Clark. Forklift operators at NFI earn between $39,000 and $49,000 annually, according to Glassdoor data — wages that fall on the lower end of California’s cost of living scale.
Federal prosecutor Bill Essayli said Friday that Abdulkarim was motivated by hostility toward capitalism and corporations. Prosecutors allege he compared himself in messages to Luigi Mangione, who shot and killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024.
Abdulkarim faces federal charges for arson of a building used in interstate commerce, carrying a sentence of five to 20 years. State charges for aggravated arson with damages exceeding $10.1 million carry a potential sentence of 10 years to life. He remains in custody without bail.
Kimberly-Clark said its logistics network is designed to handle such disruptions and does not expect product shortages. NFI Industries reported it is relocating affected employees to other facilities. Abdulkarim is being held at West Valley Detention Center.