Caught On Video: Suspected Arsonist Accidentally Lights Himself On Fire

ByBRIAN MCBRIDE ABCNews logo
Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Police in Kentucky are looking for a man caught on surveillance video attempting to torch a barbershop -- and in the process lighting himself ablaze.

Investigators in Madisonville -- located roughly 150 miles southwest of Louisville -- said two suspected arsonists in a white Ford minivan targeted the business Sunday morning.

The video first shows a woman shattering a window at the back of the building before a man emerges from the minivan with what looks like a lit Molotov cocktail.

Surveillance video then shows the man getting doused with with a back-splash of burning fluid after hurling the incendiary device at the front of the building.

The suspect's left leg can be seen engulfed in flames as he takes off sprinting in a panic across the parking lot before tumbling onto a nearby lawn and disappearing off camera.

Moments later he returns into view, missing one sneaker, and throws a flaming sock into the air, which continues to smolder as he returns to the van.

Instead of fleeing the scene, the suspect then grabs another bottle of liquid, possibly another accelerant, and pours it out by the back door.

The man and woman then flee the scene in the minivan. Police released the video Monday hoping someone would be able to identify the suspects.

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