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unusualmusic_lj_archiveWhite Police chief says that race played no part in this Father says he is scared that he will get no justice. I wonder why? I say many things, all of which are expletives
Poplar Bluff teen is doused with gas, set on fire
By Denise Hollinshed
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
06/17/2009
UPDATE: 12:50 P.M. with police comments
ST. LOUIS -- A 15-year-old Poplar Bluff boy has been hospitalized after he was doused with gasoline and set on fire, according to police.
A 16-year-old boy is accused of squirting gasoline on Walter Currie Jr. and lighting the fire. The boy is being charged as a juvenile with first-degree assault and is being held in the Butler Ripley County Juvenile Authority and Detention Center.
Poplar Bluff police said the victim was standing with some friends Saturday when two boys with whom Walter was feuding came up to him. One of the two boys squirted Walter with a squeeze bottle filled with gasoline, then ignited it with a lighter.
Walter is in good condition at a St. Louis-area hospital with burns to his chest, stomach and arms.
Poplar Bluff Deputy Police Chief Jeff Rolland said the incident happened about 9 p.m. Saturday near Main and Davis streets.
Rolland said there was a confrontation between the two youths that continued from an earlier incident.
"This confrontation led the suspect juvenile to douse the victim juvenile with a bottle of gasoline and then light the gasoline, which caused the victim to be burned to his abdomen, chest and his neck area," Rolland said.
Rolland said that the motive is being investigated but that it stems from confrontations between the two youths and their friends June 10 and earlier in the year at school.
Walter Currie Sr., 56, the victim's father, says he believes that the attack on his son was racially motivated and that he is worried the attacker will never be brought to justice. His son is black; the attacker is white.
Rolland doesn't believe the incident involved race.
"At this time, we don't have anything that indicates that it was racially motivated," he said. 'It just appears that these two young men did not like one another. Now, what that reason is is a good question, and we would like to get the answer to that."
Rolland said police are investigating why the suspect, who was arrested at the scene, had the bottle of gasoline. Rolland said the attack is the first of its kind.
"It's makes you want to scratch your head," he said.
Walter is a freshman at Poplar Bluff High School. His father said he was standing outside a Poplar Bluff store with his cousin, also 15, when he was attacked.
"The only thing I know is what Junior told me. (He said) he heard that somebody was going to jump him," Currie said. "He saw the guy, who was talking. So, he went over and asked the guy, and the next thing he knew the guy poured the gas on him and lit him up."
Currie, 56, said his nephew tried to help put the fire out and then tried to get to the suspect. The boy was rushed inside the store for protection, he said.
Currie said he was shocked. when he learned of the incident. He said the assault was premeditated.
"I can't understand why he would walk around carrying gas in a (squirt) bottle," he said.
Currie said he did not know the teen who attacked his son, but he believed that one of his two sons had attended school with him. The father said his family is upset over the attack.
"We don't get no justice down here in this town," he said.
Poplar Bluff teen is doused with gas, set on fire
By Denise Hollinshed
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
06/17/2009
UPDATE: 12:50 P.M. with police comments
ST. LOUIS -- A 15-year-old Poplar Bluff boy has been hospitalized after he was doused with gasoline and set on fire, according to police.
A 16-year-old boy is accused of squirting gasoline on Walter Currie Jr. and lighting the fire. The boy is being charged as a juvenile with first-degree assault and is being held in the Butler Ripley County Juvenile Authority and Detention Center.
Poplar Bluff police said the victim was standing with some friends Saturday when two boys with whom Walter was feuding came up to him. One of the two boys squirted Walter with a squeeze bottle filled with gasoline, then ignited it with a lighter.
Walter is in good condition at a St. Louis-area hospital with burns to his chest, stomach and arms.
Poplar Bluff Deputy Police Chief Jeff Rolland said the incident happened about 9 p.m. Saturday near Main and Davis streets.
Rolland said there was a confrontation between the two youths that continued from an earlier incident.
"This confrontation led the suspect juvenile to douse the victim juvenile with a bottle of gasoline and then light the gasoline, which caused the victim to be burned to his abdomen, chest and his neck area," Rolland said.
Rolland said that the motive is being investigated but that it stems from confrontations between the two youths and their friends June 10 and earlier in the year at school.
Walter Currie Sr., 56, the victim's father, says he believes that the attack on his son was racially motivated and that he is worried the attacker will never be brought to justice. His son is black; the attacker is white.
Rolland doesn't believe the incident involved race.
"At this time, we don't have anything that indicates that it was racially motivated," he said. 'It just appears that these two young men did not like one another. Now, what that reason is is a good question, and we would like to get the answer to that."
Rolland said police are investigating why the suspect, who was arrested at the scene, had the bottle of gasoline. Rolland said the attack is the first of its kind.
"It's makes you want to scratch your head," he said.
Walter is a freshman at Poplar Bluff High School. His father said he was standing outside a Poplar Bluff store with his cousin, also 15, when he was attacked.
"The only thing I know is what Junior told me. (He said) he heard that somebody was going to jump him," Currie said. "He saw the guy, who was talking. So, he went over and asked the guy, and the next thing he knew the guy poured the gas on him and lit him up."
Currie, 56, said his nephew tried to help put the fire out and then tried to get to the suspect. The boy was rushed inside the store for protection, he said.
Currie said he was shocked. when he learned of the incident. He said the assault was premeditated.
"I can't understand why he would walk around carrying gas in a (squirt) bottle," he said.
Currie said he did not know the teen who attacked his son, but he believed that one of his two sons had attended school with him. The father said his family is upset over the attack.
"We don't get no justice down here in this town," he said.
