Police in Los Angeles said Thursday that a 67-year-old homeless woman who was sleeping on a bench was set on fire, allegedly by a man who purchased rubbing alcohol from a nearby Walgreens and used a knife to threaten a man who witnessed the act.

“He went inside to the Walgreens store, bought alcohol and then he just poured it all over the old lady,” witness Erickson Ipina told KTLA-TV. “Then he threw the match on her and started running.”

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Authorities claim the suspect, who’s in custody but was not named, is 28-years-old. The motive is not clear. Officials told KTLA-TV that the woman’s condition is very serious and she may likely die from her injuries, triggering a charge of murder in the first degree.

This video is from KTLA-TV in Los Angeles, broadcast Thursday, December 27, 2012.

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