{"id":234784,"date":"2022-09-29T16:10:05","date_gmt":"2022-09-29T21:10:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=234784"},"modified":"2022-09-30T15:57:54","modified_gmt":"2022-09-30T20:57:54","slug":"crown-melbourne-restaurant-arsonist-was-banned-for-sexual-misconduct","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/crown-melbourne-restaurant-arsonist-was-banned-for-sexual-misconduct\/","title":{"rendered":"Crown Melbourne Restaurant Arsonist was Banned from Casino for Sexual Misconduct"},"content":{"rendered":"

A man accused of lobbing a Molotov cocktail into an acclaimed French restaurant at the Crown Melbourne<\/a> had a \u201cpersonal vendetta\u201d against the casino, police say. Terrorism isn’t believed to have been a motivation for the attack.<\/p>\n

\"Crown
A stock image of a Molotov cocktail, above. Hussein Kassem allegedly used his T-shirt and a bottle of Jack Daniels to create his improvised incendiary device. (Image: Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Melbourne Magistrates Court<\/a> heard Wednesday that Hussein Kassem, 39, had been kicked out of the Crown a week before he launched his assault on the Bistro Guillaume. That was allegedly for sexually inappropriate behavior toward staff.<\/p>\n

Kassem was arrested in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Police believe, just minutes earlier, he had removed his T-shirt, doused it in a bottle of Jack Daniels, and lit it on fire before throwing it through the restaurant\u2019s window.<\/strong><\/p>\n

No one was injured in the attack, and firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze. The improvised incendiary device caused more than AU$100K in damage to the restaurant\u2019s outdoor dining area.<\/p>\n

Kassem has been charged with reckless conduct endangering persons and two counts of arson.<\/p>\n

Second Blaze<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Police also believe Kassem is responsible for lighting a smaller fire in the restrooms in the lobby of Crown Towers at around 12:30 am on Wednesday. The blaze set off the sprinkler system, causing extensive flooding.<\/p>\n

When interviewed by police, Kassem admitted having a vendetta against Crown Towers and wanting to burn them down. He claimed he threw the burning bottle at the bistro because of \u201cwhat Australia did to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The court heard the defendant was allegedly banned from the Crown Melbourne on Sept. 21, after making sexual remarks to a waiter.<\/strong><\/p>\n

During Wednesday\u2019s hearing, Kassem told Magistrate Angela Bolger she was \u201cnot fit to be the judge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bolger rejected his bail application, branding him an \u201cunacceptable risk\u201d to public safety. He was returned to the cells and ordered to undergo a mental health assessment. He is due back in court on Jan. 1.<\/p>\n

Safety Priority <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Crown Resorts said in an official statement that it’s helping the police with their inquiries.<\/p>\n

Crown\u2019s customers\u2019 and employees\u2019 safety and well-being are always our number one priority, and our security team moved swiftly to contain the incident and engage the services of Victoria Police and Melbourne Fire Brigade,\u201d she said. \u201cThis matter is now in the hands of Victoria Police, and we are assisting them with their investigations.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Melbourne Crime Investigation Unit detectives are still appealing for witnesses to come forward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A man accused of lobbing a Molotov cocktail into an acclaimed French restaurant at the Crown Melbourne had a \u201cpersonal vendetta\u201d against the casino, police say. Terrorism isn’t believed to have been a motivation for the attack. Melbourne Magistrates Court heard Wednesday that Hussein Kassem, 39, had been kicked out of the Crown a week […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":234785,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69069,60,18],"tags":[81985],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCrown Melbourne Restaurant Arsonist Was Banned for Sexual Misconduct<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Hussein Kassem accused of throwing Molotov cocktail at Crown Melbourne\u2019s Bistro Guillaume. 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He was banned from casino a week before.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/crown-melbourne-restaurant-arsonist-was-banned-for-sexual-misconduct\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-09-29T21:10:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-09-30T20:57:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/molotov.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1140\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"641\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/crown-melbourne-restaurant-arsonist-was-banned-for-sexual-misconduct\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/crown-melbourne-restaurant-arsonist-was-banned-for-sexual-misconduct\/\",\"name\":\"Crown Melbourne Restaurant Arsonist Was Banned for Sexual Misconduct\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/crown-melbourne-restaurant-arsonist-was-banned-for-sexual-misconduct\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/crown-melbourne-restaurant-arsonist-was-banned-for-sexual-misconduct\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/molotov.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-09-29T21:10:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-09-30T20:57:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Hussein Kassem accused of throwing Molotov cocktail at Crown Melbourne\u2019s Bistro Guillaume. 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