Disturbing surveillance footage from California’s Bay Area shows a serial shoplifter burning a store clerk’s head with stolen lighter fluid after he tried to stop the alleged shoplifter.
Suraj — a store clerk who declined to give his last name for fear of being targeted again — was seen on video struggling with Kendall Burton before he doused Suraj’s head with lighter fluid on Sept. 22 at Appian Food and Liquor in El Sobrante, according to video obtained by CBS News.
In the video, another worker is seen rushing to Suraj’s rescue with a baseball bat moments before flames instantly consumed the clerk’s head after Burton ignited the liquid in the heat of the confrontation.
“I tried to cover his hand, but I don’t know. I do not remember. He just lit me on fire, you know,” Suraj told the outlet.
“I just rushed to the toilet, and I just splashed water on my face.”
Suraj — who has worked at the store for the past five years — said he and other employees at the Bay Area store deal with shoplifters regularly, but nothing like this has ever happened.
Suraj was seen fighting with the serial shoplifter as he tried to stop him from stealing.KPIX 5During the struggle, Kendall Burton poured lighter fluid on the clerk’s head and lit it on fire.KPIX 5
A co-worker warned the clerk at the start of his shift that Burton had been in the store several times that day to steal lighter fluid.
“He just splashed lighter fluid on my face, and I was really scared then,” Suraj told the outlet.
Suraj suffered second and third degree burns on his face, neck, chest, and shoulders.
The clerk has been hospitalized at Saint Francis Memorial Hospital in San Francisco since the horrific attack and shared that the incident has affected not only him but his family.
The clerk will need multiple surgeries due to the burns he suffered at the hands of Burton’s attack.Gofundme
“Very bad,” Suraj told the store from his hospital bed.
“You know, I’m still in trauma right now, me, my family,” Suraj told the outlet from his hospital bed.
He will need several surgeries due to his burns.
“When we cleaned the wound, it was like more than 10,” the clerk said of the pain she felt after the attack.
Co-workers warned Suraj that Burton had been in the store several times that day to steal lighter fluid.KPIX 5
Appian Food and Liquor Store is located about 20 miles southwest of Downtown San Francisco.
“First of all, I want to say that nobody should go through this kind of situation, and that small shops should have more security or something like that,” Surja told the outlet.
“Workplaces should be safer.”
Appian Food and Liquor Store is located about 20 miles southwest of Downtown San Francisco.KPIX 5
Suraj’s wife, Sabeena, has started a GoFundMe page to help raise money for her husband’s physical and mental care as he begins his journey to recovery.
“Burns take time to heal and recover and we are overwhelmed by the mental trauma and stress of medical procedures,” Sabeena wrote on the fundraising site.
Burton, 38, was arrested following his complete disregard for human life, the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office told the outlet.
Known to authorities as homeless in the El Sobrante area, Burton faces charges including assault with a deadly weapon, battery, arson and robbery.
He is being held without bail.
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
