The landlord of the Oakland Warehouse where 36 people died in a massive fire that broke out during a rave over the weekend got combative with “Today” show anchors Matt Lauer and Tamron Hall Tuesday morning in an interview that had to be cut short after he got too emotional.
“It’s not a good morning. What am I doing here? Can I just say I’m sorry?” Derick Almena said before the NBC anchors pressed for details.
Lauer asked who should be held accountable for the 36 deaths.
“What am I gonna say to that? I can barely stand here right now,” Almena said. The landlord went on to explain that the victims were a group of artists making music, creating art and pursuing dreams. “We created something together,” he said.
Hall pushed, saying a past resident accused Almena of profiting and knowing the building was dangerous.
“I don’t want to talk about me… This is a mass grave. I’m only here to say one thing, that I am incredibly I’m sorry,” Almena said before getting even more emotional. “I would rather get on the floor and be trampled by the parents. I’d rather let them tear at my flesh than answer these ridiculous questions.”
An extremely emotional Almena started to get combative toward Hall and Lauer before the interview was cut short.
Authorities announced Monday that upon further search of the building, they found almost four times more bodies than the nine that were initially discovered over the weekend, per NPR. They also said they expect to find more bodies before the search is over.
The search was called off around midnight local time on Sunday after firefighters noticed that one wall appeared to be in danger of collapsing. Oakland fire chief Teresa Deloach Reed estimates that 70 percent of the building has been searched.
Sgt. Ray Kelly, a spokesman for the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department, told the Los Angeles Times that the district attorney’s office has sent criminal investigators to work with the sheriff’s arson task force and the Oakland Police Department to determine what started the blaze. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is also assisting in the investigation.
The call about the fire in the Fruitvale neighborhood came in at around 11:30 p.m, reported the New York Times. The party at 1305 31st Avenue had started at 9 p.m., and at least 100 people were in the building when the fire started, Reed said. Most of the deceased were on the second floor because there was only one way down on a stairway made of pallets, according to CNN.
Watch the video above.