Video: Man in electric wheelchair set on fire near Utrecht market; Suspect in custody
This article was updated after the arrest was announced.
A man with a physical disability was injured Tuesday afternoon after he was set on fire while he was driving his electric wheelchair in Utrecht. An arrest in the case was announced at about 8:30 p.m., with police still trying to piece together the details hours after the incident happened just after 3:30 p.m.
The blaze left the elderly victim with severe burns to his head, arms, back, and other parts of his body, authorities said. A manager at the Plus grocery store alongside the crime scene described the victim as being an individual without legs, a client of the Salvation Army, and someone who often asks people for change. “We sent him away, but shortly afterwards an unknown man approached with a burning leaflet behind his back,” the manager told AD.
“As a result, the man’s clothing and the mobility scooter caught fire. A bystander immediately pulled him off his scooter and tried to extinguish the fire by laying him on his back.” Other witnesses at the crowded shopping center on Smaragdplein ran to the man’s aid, or called emergency services.
The newspaper said witnesses saw the victim in the wheelchair involved in a brief argument with the suspect before the fire. The suspect is believed to be someone who sells copies of a newspaper in front of the supermarket, RTL reported. It was not clear what they argued about before the flames broke out. “The perpetrator then ran away,” the grocery store manager told AD.
Meanwhile, firefighters and paramedics raced to the scenein the Utrecht Zuid neighborhood of Tolsteeg en Rotsooord. The victim was quickly loaded into an ambulance after the shocking incident.
“The gentleman was transported to the hospital with quite severe burns,” a police spokesperson said. Since it was so crowded, many people saw the “incredibly disturbing” crime.
“That is why we have not only called on people to come forward as witnesses, but also to consider victim support.”
Police did not release a description of the suspect, and did not specify if any accomplices were involved in the violent assault. It has not yet been revealed if police secured video or photographs clearly showing the incident.
