Horror as man is set on fire inside his SUV by homeless man after he refused to give him money
By ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTER and DAILY MAIL REPORTER
A man was set on fire inside his SUV in Long Beach last night after reportedly refusing to give him any money. Police say a homeless man set a 63-year-old California man on fire outside a 7-Eleven store by throwing a flammable substance inside the man's parked SUV. The unidentified victim is said to have walked past panhandler as he requested money.
As he got in the car, the man threw a flammable liquid into the vehicle and set it alight. Long Beach Sgt. Aaron Eaton says the man suffered severe burns in the Friday evening attack. Bystanders helped douse the flames and 38-year-old Raymond Sean Clark was arrested a block away. Clark was jailed on suspicion of attempted murder and on some misdemeanor warrants. He was being held in lieu of $502,000 bail.
The victim was hospitalized in critical condition. He suffered third degree burns to his chest and face with his orange T-shirt burned off his body, according to the Beachcomber blog. This is an unsettling crime, a horrific act,' Eaton told NBC Bay Area. 'The potential for other people to get hurt through the vehicle catching fire next door, the building, someone walking by ... it's extremely unsettling for sure. 'Right now it appears to be a random act,' he said.
Steve Cox said he gave spare change to the alleged attacker minutes before the fire. 'He didn’t seem like he was going to harm anybody. He wasn’t very aggressive or anything. I mean, asking for change, he seemed like a nice guy,' Cox said. 'I’m really surprised about what happened. It’s outrageous.' One witness said he's seen the suspect, Clark, often around the neighborhood.
'He's always outside the 7-Eleven asking for money and smoking cigarettes,' the man, who did not want to be identified, told the Los Angeles Daily News. Shannon Flynn, 16, of Long Beach, said the victim 'was engulfed in flames. The fire was so big, people were screaming. I just can't believe this happened here.'
Robert Linkroum saw Clark approaching the SUV and described him as a man 'walking on a mission' as he threw what looked like a bottle into the vehicle. 'It was crazy,' he said. 'The vehicle went up in flames immediately, just totally engulfed. It was all flames. It became so hot in 7-Eleven that I moved towards the back of the store because I thought the windows were going to blow.'
