A 54 year-old man is still in serious condition today after a Molotov cocktail was thrown at him while he waited outside of a Long Beach market on Friday night. Police released the store’s surveillance footage Sunday and are asking the public’s help in identifying the suspect who they believe to be a man in his 20s who was wearing light-colored clothing at the time.
The tape was rolling at around 7PM Friday night, police say, when the suspect ran out from the alley and threw a bottle containing an unknown flammable liquid at the victim as he sat outside the entrance of El Paisano Ranch Market near the corner of PCH and Pacific Ave. Footage shows a fireball exploding around the victim and narrowly missed and woman with her baby in a stroller.
“There is no indication at all that they knew each other,” said Sgt. Aaron Eaton with the Long Beach Police Department. “There was not a previous altercation. The victim’s just standing there, minding his own business, when he had this object thrown at him.”
Though the victim’s name is being withheld, he remains in the hospital with burns to the lower part of his body. Police say that they do not believe the incident to be gang related.
“At this point, detectives are asking for the public’s help in identifying the person responsible for this crime,” Eaton said.
Anyone with information was asked to call the Long Beach Arson Hotline at (562)570-2582 or L.A. Crimestoppers at (800)222-TIPS.