Woman doused store clerk with gas, threw lit matches at her, Florida police say
A woman accused of panhandling hours earlier doused a store clerk with gasoline and threw lit matches at her, authorities in Florida said.
The clerk caught on fire and a coworker was also burned while trying to put out the fire, WKRG reported. Both clerks were hospitalized, including one with life-threatening injuries, the TV station reported.
The woman was asked to stop panhandling on the morning of March 30 outside of a convenience store station in Pensacola, according to a news release posted on the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office’s Facebook page.
The woman left and returned around 1 p.m. with a gasoline can, according to the news release.
“[The suspect] panhandled gasoline then walked inside the store and doused the clerk with the gas from the can and started lighting and throwing matches at the victim,” the sheriff’s office said.
After the woman set the clerk on fire, she calmly left the store, according to the Facebook post. Deputies found her several blocks away.
She was jailed and faces a charge of attempted murder, the sheriff’s office said.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim and her family. This is a senseless and practically indescribable act of cruelty,” Sheriff Chip W. Simmons said.
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