NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — A 27-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly setting another man on fire in a public housing building stairwell, police said Sunday.
The horrific attack took place around 5 p.m. Friday in the Samuel Gompers Houses on Pitt Street on the Lower East Side, police said.
The suspect, a tenant in the building, allegedly lit the man's pant leg on fire in an attempt to scare the man out of sleeping in the stairwell of the 14-story apartment building, according to police.
The victim was transported to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in critical condition.
The 27-year-old faces charges for attempted murder, assault and arson, police said.
The victim was reportedly homeless and struggling with substance abuse, according to the Daily News.
