A South Kona man is in police custody after police say he set himself on fire and tried to set his ex-girlfriend on fire.
It happened around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, February 14.
Police say a 27-year-old man was walking on Tobacco Road in Hōnaunau with a knife.
While on the way to the scene, Kona patrol officers received updates that a house at that location was on fire.
When they arrived at the house, the officers determined that the man had reportedly gone to the home of his ex-girlfriend, poured a flammable liquid on the front porch and lit it on fire.
The 26-year-old woman escaped from the house by climbing out a window.
The man reportedly restrained her and poured the flammable liquid onto both her and him.
Police say the woman’s relatives, who live on another house on the same property, heard the commotion, exited their house and pulled the suspect away from the victim.
As one of the relatives was fighting the flames on the porch with a garden hose, police say the suspect set himself on fire.
The woman’s relatives helped the woman extinguish the flames.
Police say the suspect called 911 and was taken by ambulance to Kona Community Hospital for treatment of burns.
Officers arrested the suspect on suspicion of abuse, terroristic threatening and arson.
He is being held at the Kona police cellblock while detectives from the Area II Criminal Investigations Section continue the investigation.
The woman did not require medical attention for the injuries she received during the struggle with the suspect.
See the original article at: KHON2 Developing Stories
