Man Burned by Stranger Tossing Molotov Cocktail

A man suffered serious burns Friday night when a suspect threw a Molotov cocktail-type device at him while he waited for his father outside a Long Beach market.

The attack happened around 7 p.m. in the 200 block of Pacific Coast Highway, said Long Beach police Sgt. Aaron Eaton. Investigators who examined surveillance video learned that a man believed to be in his 20s wearing light-colored clothing ran out from an alley and threw a bottle with an unknown flammable liquid in it, Eaton said.

``It landed at the feet of the victim and caused him to catch on fire,'' Eaton said. The victim was taken to a hospital, where he was in serious but stable condition with burns mostly to his lower extremities, Eaton said.

The suspect fled from the scene and has not been apprehended, he said. Investigators do not know a motive for the attack and do not believe the suspect knew the victim, Eaton said.

``There is no indication at all that they knew each other. There was not a previous altercation,'' Eaton said. ``The victim's just standing there, minding his own business, when he has this object thrown at him.''

Anyone with information about the attack was urged to call Long Beach police at (562) 570-7260.

--City News Service