A 24-year-old California man has been accused of dousing a 68-year-old man’s head in gasoline and setting it on fire for no apparent reason, The Mercury News reports. Bradley Edward Marcrum allegedly walked up to the older man in Berkeley on June 29, punched him twice, and poured gasoline on his head. The victim told police he then realized his head was up in flames, and others helped call 911 while extinguishing the blaze. He survived the attack but was hospitalized with serious burns requiring surgery and was unable to identify Marcrum in a lineup due to his injuries, according to authorities. A day before the attack, Marcrum threatened to leap off of a building and was placed in a mental health hold—although an evaluation determined he wasn’t a danger to himself or others, prompting his release, authorities said. When cops arrested him on Wednesday for an unrelated crime—evading a transit fare—officers realized he was the suspect in the gasoline attack. He has been charged with attempted murder, mayhem, and elder abuse.
