What to Know
- A man was caught on camera spraying gas all over 7-Eleven's pumps on Staten Island, then torching the station
- It happened at the station on Richmond Avenue near the College of Staten Island early Monday
- The man is still at large, police said, but another man had internal injuries from the blast and is in serious condition at a hospital
Police are looking for a man who was caught on camera spraying gas all over 7-Eleven's pumps on Staten Island, then torching the station, injuring one man who cops said was coughing up blood.
Surveillance footage from the station, on Richmond Avenue near the College of Staten Island, showed the man apparently absentmindedly filling up a canister about 1:50 a.m. on Monday. He glugs gas all over the base of the pumps before again putting the nozzle in the canister.
But then, he pulls the nozzle back out and sprays even more gas around before lighting up a piece of paper. He doesn't even back away from the soaked concrete and pumps before dropping the nozzle and unleashing a booming fireball.
The man then runs away as extinguishers douse the flames while a station employee called authorities.
He's still at large, according to police, but another 21-year-old nearby had internal injuries from the blast and is in serious but stable condition at a nearby hospital. Police said that victim was coughing blood and had a “collapsing throat.”
The victim was identified as Gerard Lara. He was treated at St. Vincent's Hospital in Staten Island.
Anyone with information about the arsonist should call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
