touching off

Fontana police shot and killed a man they said brandished a gun at officers responding to a 911 call early Sunday morning, touching off an investigation.

On Sunday Mahmoud Khalil, a prominent Palestinian activist and recent Columbia graduate who holds a green card, was arrested by federal immigration authorities, touching off a legal fight over his detention.

It reminds me of when Kennedy Catholic High School in Burien ousted two gay teachers in the middle of the 2019-20 school year for the crime of getting engaged — touching off schoolwide protests.

Ford says in documents filed with U.S. safety regulators that fuel injectors can crack, and gasoline or vapor can accumulate near ignition sources, possibly touching off fires.

That suit caught the attention of prosecutors when it went to trial in 2019, touching off the criminal investigation.