A man was arrested early Thursday on suspicion of setting a homeless woman on fire as she sat at a bus stop in Van Nuys.
The suspect allegedly poured an accelerant on the woman as she slept on a bench and then set her on fire at about 1 a.m. at Van Nuys Boulevard and Sherman Way, said Officer Cleon Joseph of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The suspect’s name was not released because he had not yet been booked, Joseph said.
The woman was in critical condition at a hospital.
Witnesses called 911 and told police that the man ran away after he lit the woman on fire outside a Walgreens, but officers were able to catch up with him, said Sgt. Larry Martinez of the LAPD.
Detectives with the LAPD's robbery-homicide department are investigating the attack.
In October, a Long Beach man was set on fire when an unknown assailant threw a bottle filled with a flammable liquid at him outside a market. Authorities said there was no apparent motive or connection between the victim and suspect.
For more on this story, click here.
BY THE WAY...
We spoke with Stephanie Klasky-Gamer, president and CEO of Valley Shelter about the plight of homelessness in Los Angeles and how these horrific incidents can be prevented.
For more information on the L.A. Family Housing group that she belongs to, click here.
