CONCORD (KRON) — Concord fire investigators said a man arrested on Christmas Eve for allegedly setting fire to homes and cars in the Contra Costa County area was going after people in his wedding party, police said Wednesday.

Joshua Van Buskirk, 33, was arrested on Dec. 24 after an investigation by the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District and Concord police into four fires in Concord, Antioch and Pleasant Hill.

Concord police Cpl. Christopher Blakely said an investigation revealed that three of the victims allegedly targeted by Van Buskirk were his former groomsmen and another victim was a friend who attended his wedding.

On the morning of his arrest, Concord police and county fire crews responded to a blaze started by a Molotov cocktail-like device in the 4100 block of Churchill Drive in Concord.

Later in the day, two more of the incendiary devices were found at a blaze in front of a home in the 3600 block of Walnut Avenue in Antioch, according to the fire district.

District officials said Van Buskirk is also suspected in two vehicle arsons, one on Dec. 23 in the 400 block of Ridgewood Court in Antioch and another on Oct. 12 in the 100 block of Gregory Lane in Pleasant Hill.

Blakely said in each of the incidents, items such as playing cards were left at the scene as an apparent message to the victims.

Following Van Buskirk’s arrest, a subsequent search of his Walnut Creek residence revealed that he had compiled a checklist and names of victims in the incidents were crossed out, Blakely said.

“You could almost call it a hit list,” Blakely said. “And there were more names on it … We probably prevented a few more fires by getting him into custody when we did.”

Van Buskirk has been booked into the Martinez Detention Facility and is being held on $2.1 million bail.

He’s facing four arson-related charges and three charges of possessing a destructive device, according to the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office.

Additionally, Van Buskirk has been charged with two counts of child abuse because there were children inside one of the homes where a fire was started, according to court records.

He will next be in court on Tuesday for a preliminary hearing.Bay City News contributed to this report.