Worker Doused With Gasoline, Set on Fire

Police are searching for a suspect after a worker at a corner store was doused with gasoline and set on fire in Reading, Pa.

Investigators say Joel Fontanez, 34, was behind the counter at the Citi Sub & Grocery Store at S 10th and Cotton Streets when a man attacked him around 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Firefighters were dispatched for a report of a fire and found the victim in a gutter across the street.

Deputy Fire Chief Tom Kemery says firefighters put out the blaze.

"We found him in the gutter across the street, and he was still smoking, so we put him out," Kemery told the Reading Eagle.

Fontanez was airlifted to the hospital where he remained in serious condition Wednesday morning.

Investigators don't know what provoked the attack. They're looking for witnesses and the suspect. The suspect is described as a man in his 20s.

Nothing appeared to be stolen and it appears the man was targeted, according to police.

The store's owner says he's never had any trouble and didn't know of any threats against the store or its employees.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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