A viral post shared on X, formerly Twitter, purports Sahil Omar has allegedly been identified as the suspect involved in a recent explosion at the Sandman Signature Downtown Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas.
🚨BREAKING: The suspect of the #explosion at the Sandman Signature Fort Worth Hotel in Texas, USA, has been identified as 44 year-old migrant Sahil Omar. Authorities have yet to find a motive.
A many as 11 people injured. pic.twitter.com/RtHSF36TMe
— laysums 🇺🇸 (@laysums) January 8, 2024
Verdict: False
A spokesperson for the Fort Worth Police Department denied the claim’s validity in an email to Check Your Fact.
Fact Check:
An explosion that occurred at the Sandman Signature Fort Worth Hotel is believed to have been the result of a natural gas leak, according to NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth. At least 21 people were injured as a result of the explosion, with one person in critical condition and four others “seriously injured,” USA Today reported.
“BREAKING: The suspect of the #explosion at the Sandman Signature Fort Worth Hotel in Texas, USA, has been identified as 44 year-old migrant Sahil Omar. Authorities have yet to find a motive. A [sic] many as 11 people injured,” the X post, viewed over one million times, purports. The post includes two videos showing smoke and debris following the incident. Sirens can also be heard in the background.
The claim that Omar has been identified as the suspect involved in the recent explosion is false, however. A Jan. 8 statement shared by the Fort Worth Police Department on X did not name a suspect.
“At approximately 3:32 p.m. multiple 911 calls were received for a fire at the Sandman Hotel located at 810 Houston St. The Fort Worth Fire Department responded to the structure fire call and it was immediately updated to an explosion call at the same location. The Fort Worth Police Department assisted with street closures and clearing out parking garages in the immediate area,” the statement read in part.
“This is an ongoing investigation and further details will be released as they become available,” it continued.
At approximately 3:32 p.m. multiple 911 calls were received for a fire at the Sandman Hotel located at 810 Houston St.
The Fort Worth Fire Department responded to the structure fire call and it was immediately updated to an explosion call at the same location. The Fort Worth…
— Fort Worth Police (@fortworthpd) January 9, 2024
Likewise, there are no credible news reports linking the alleged suspect, Omar, to the explosion. In fact, the opposite is true. An article from Lead Stories also debunking the claim appears in the search results. (RELATED: Video Claims To Show Japanese Tsunami)
In addition, Gezim Pollozani, a spokesperson for the Forth Worth Police Department, denied the claim’s validity in an email to Check Your Fact.
“At this point in the investigation, there is no validity to what you are inquiring about,” Pollozani said.
This is not the first time the name Sahil Omar has been connected to a major news story. According to the same debunk article from Lead Stories, “Sahil Omar” has circulated in relation to claims about late financier turned sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a 2023 shooting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and more.