A New Mexico man set himself on fire while trying to torch his ex-girlfriend’s home while she and her four children were inside, according to police.
Artemio Sanchez-Ortega, 46, is accused of pouring gasoline all over his ex’s Albuquerque home on May 24 and lighting a match, destroying the two vehicles in her driveway.
A neighbor’s security footage shows the arsonist pouring the liquid before the flames explode as he is jumping over the fence, trying to flee the scene.
The man becomes engulfed in flames as he runs away from the scene while still on fire.
Artemio Sanchez-Ortega set himself on fire while trying to torch his ex-girlfriend’s home while she and her four children were inside, according to police
The arsonist, however, managed to get away from the scene in a pickup truck
He is seen tripping on his feet and falling before running for about a block while his clothes are still on fire.
Neighbor Daniel Provine, whose cameras captured the incident, told KOB4: ‘I kind of had to laugh at the sort of amateur hour situation there, if you’re going to commit arson, try to do it without setting yourself on fire.’
The victim, who has not been named by police, was watching the entire scene from inside the home in shock, she told the local news outlet.
The vehicles in the victim’s driveway were destroyed after the attack
She and her children made it out of the home with no injuries.
The woman told police Sanchez-Ortega had called her three times before the attack and she ‘could tell he was drinking.’
The arsonist, however, managed to get away from the scene in a pickup truck.
Police are still looking for Sanchez-Ortega.
