A man wearing a dark jacket, dark hoodie and khakis stood by stoically after he tried to torch a South Philadelphia home with a Molotov cocktail Tuesday morning, said Philadelphia police.
Luckily no one was hurt after a bottle with a wick doused in gasoline was tossed at a house along Beechwood Street near Wolf Street around 5:30 a.m., according to Philadelphia police.
The firebomb bounced off a window and caught fire on the sidewalk outside the home, said police. People were able to extinguish the blaze before firefighters arrived.
A neighbor said she was awakened by a loud boom when the first-floor window shattered, police said. She said the man in khakis stood there watching the fire engulf the sidewalk.
Another neighbor told police the suspect stoically stared at the flames until he mentioned the police. The man wearing khakis then walked away down Beechwood Street toward Jackson Street, according to police.
No one was hurt in the arson, said police.
The suspect may have had plans to make sure the house caught fire if the neighbors hadn't intervened — a second Molotov cocktail was found on the sidewalk, said police.
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Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact Philadelphia police.
