Quantcast

Man charged with setting Staten Island gas station on fire, NYPD says

Police arrested a 26-year-old man who they say set fire to a 7-Eleven gas station on Staten Island on July 30, injuring one person.

Fakrol Islam of Brooklyn drove to the gas station in a blue minivan and filled a portable gas canister before spraying the gasoline all over the pumping area just before 2 a.m., police said.

He then lit a piece of paper and put it on the ground, igniting a giant plume of fire all around him, police said. Islam appeared to skirt the raging flame and run away, but it looked like he briefly set his feet on fire in the process, according to a video released by police.

A 21-year-old man who was nearby suffered internal injuries as a result and was taken to Richmond University Medical Center in serious, but stable condition, police said.

The flames were quickly put out by the gas station’s fire suppression system.

Islam was charged with arson in the third degree, two counts of reckless endangerment in the first and second degree and criminal mischief in the third degree.