A 75-year-old man was in critical condition early Wednesday after someone doused him in flammable liquid and lit him on fire as he lay on the ground overnight, according to Chicago police.
The man had been resting when a man he didn’t know came up to him in the 400 block of North Lower Wabash Avenue about 2:50 a.m., police said. The stranger “then proceeded to ignite the victim before fleeing the scene,” according to an online media statement from police.
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A security officer working at a nearby building in the Near North neighborhood saw the 75-year-old engulfed in flames and rushed over with a fire extinguisher, which he used to put the fire out, police said.
Paramedics responded and took the 75-year-old to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where the man was listed in critical condition. Authorities said he suffered burns “to nearly half his body.”
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The attacker, who is wanted on suspicion of aggravated battery and arson, took off running west after setting the man on fire. No arrests had been made as of Wednesday morning and no physical description of the attacker had been released by police.
Police have not suggested a motive for the attack. It wasn’t immediately clear whether investigators recovered surveillance video from the area.
Check back for updates.
