Video leads deputies to teen who allegedly set another teen on fire

MARION COUNTY, Fla. (WESH) — A 17-year-old has been arrested after deputies say they discovered a video of gasoline being splashed on another teen, who was set on fire, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.

Earlier this month, deputies arrived at UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville to conduct an investigation related to the incident, when they found a video of the teen being set on fire.

The victim was life-flighted to Shands and was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit, where he was treated for second-degree burns and third-degree burns.

The victim’s mother said she was told that while spending time at a friend’s house, the victim had caught fire from a water bottle that contained gasoline inside, and that when he attempted to throw the water bottle into a fire, it erupted and burned his legs, according to the documents.

However, documents say the video contradicted the claims of what happened, and when deputies spoke with the victim, he claimed another teen had set him on fire and used gasoline to do so.

In the video, deputies say the suspect can be seen with a “gas canister pouring gasoline on the juvenile victim.”

The victim said the group of himself, the defendant and two witnesses were “hanging out” and “drinking alcohol” around a fire, documents say.

That’s when MCSO says the defendant was “messing” with the fire and used the gasoline canister that created a trail leading up to the victim. When he became engulfed in flames, he ran into a lake to extinguish himself.

The victim said he doesn’t remember much of the incident, but explained that he and the defendant were “cool,” so he was unsure why this happened.

When asked why he lied to his parents, the victim told deputies the suspect told him not to, and that the incident was hard to talk about at all.

The witness who recorded the incident told deputies that what was seen in the footage was “an accurate depiction of what occurred,” documents say.

When deputies tried to make contact with the suspect and his mother, they refused to speak to MCSO at the instruction of an attorney.

The suspect is being held with no bond.