A 28-year-old man remained hospitalized Saturday in critical condition with burns suffered when a 16-year-old boy allegedly robbed him and then set him on fire in the Westlake District, authorities said.
The attack happened about 2:30 a.m. Monday in the 500 block of Union Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
When officers arrived at the scene to investigate an assault-with-a-deadly-weapon call, they were told firefighters had taken the 28-year-old victim to a hospital for treatment of second- and third-degree burns, police said.
Officers learned that while the victim was sleeping near an apartment complex the suspect took the man’s property and then used an unknown accelerant to set him on fire, according to the LAPD.
The teenager, whose name has not been released because of his age, was identified during a follow-up investigation and arrested the same day on suspicion of robbery and attempted murder, Officer Tony Im of the LAPD’s Media Relations Section said.
— Staff and wire reports