Oklahoma City Police released a video this week of a man firebombing a man in a wheelchair with a Molotov cocktail in an early morning incident that unfolded “right across the street” from their headquarters.
“What happened next showed the absolute best of our community and our first responders,” police later said, according to news outlets.
Detectives and a “quick-thinking bystander immediately rushed into danger to help the victim and take the suspect into custody on the spot,” according to authorities, as the city’s fire department arrived on the scene to “provide crucial medical aid.”
Alexander Emery, the 38-year-old suspect in the attack, who reportedly has a lengthy criminal record in Pottawatomie County, was booked July 2, the day of the incident, into the Oklahoma County jail.
The heavily-tattooed Emery is expected to face charges of “first-degree arson, assault and battery with a deadly weapon, assault with intent to kill and two counts of possessing, using, manufacturing or threatening to use an incendiary device or explosives,” the Oklahoman reported.
The newspaper’s account of the 8:00 a.m. incident reported the suspect’s alleged — and inexplicable — thinking for justifying the firebombing:
According to the court affidavit, the suspect told investigators he was “looking for marks” and intended to kill the victim because he thought he saw a “mark” and believed the victim was a child molester. He also told investigators he made two Molotov cocktails but was only able to use one before detectives stopped him.
Police said, “Thanks to this rapid, heroic response, the victim is expected to recover, and the suspect is behind bars.”
Breitbart contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the author of the New York Times true crime best seller House of Secrets and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
