SAN DIEGO -- A 56-year-old woman was detained after reportedly setting a 32-year-old man on fire in the Skyline neighborhood Thursday morning.
The man was taken to a hospital to be treated for serious burn injuries to his arm and shoulder after he was set ablaze for unknown reasons in the parking lot of an apartment complex in the vicinity of South Meadowbrook Drive and Brookhaven Road at around 7:30 a.m., San Diego police said.
According to police, the woman may have intentionally started the fire while the two were sitting inside a parked Lexus. The man was taken to UCSD Medical Center with serious burns. Brown said the woman was taken into custody shortly afterward.
“It appears that the two people were inside the vehicle at the time that the fire was potentially intentionally set,” Lt. Andra Brown said.
Sex crimes detectives were called out to investigate a possible sexual assault related to the incident. The Metro Arson Strike Team was also at the scene to determine exactly what started the fire. A small bottle of flammable liquid was found on the ground next to the car.
“We got a couple of different angles we have to look at,” Brown said. “We have to look at the potential for a sexual assault. We have to look at the potential the fire that was intentionally set. So at this point, we do know the two people were involved and we’re sorting that out.”
The two people were acquaintances, police said. Neither resided in the complex.
No names were released. An investigation into the case is ongoing. There was no immediate word on what charges might be filed.
