A teenager was left in critical condition after he caught fire in a Bronx apartment building Wednesday afternoon during a dispute with another man, cops said.
The 18-year-old victim, identified by police sources as Winston Ortiz, was stopped three times and then fired with gasoline and illuminated with a match on the fifth floor of 1045 Woodycrest Ave. in Highbridge at 3 p.m.
Police sources said the suspect entered the building about 10 minutes before Ortiz – who does not live there – carried out the attack.
Two neighbors in the building were able to extinguish the flames with buckets of water before EMTs arrived. Ortiz was taken to Harlem Hospital in critical condition.
One of the occupants of the building, a 34-year-old mother, said she was warned of the grim scene by a woman screaming in the hallway.
PENNSYLVANIA MAN CONFESSES TO CHILDREN BIND MOTHERS OF HIS CHILDREN, POLICE SAY
‘I step outside. I saw flames, “said the woman, who wished to remain anonymous.
‘I thought her apartment was on fire. And when I got over there, I saw a man all over his body in flames. ”
The witness and the mother of the crying girl, who lives on the sixth floor of the building, grabbed both buckets of water and threw them at the burning victim. It is unclear if the teenage girl and the victim know each other.
The incident left the 34-year-old witness rattling.
“I was very scared because I have my girls here,” she said. “It’s really about.”
Wednesday’s attack came a day after two men were shot on the corner outside the building, cops said.
A 21-year-old man was beaten seven times in the 4:45 a.m. shooting. The other victim, 37, was shot in the foot, police said.
Both shooting victims were taken to Lincoln Hospital and are expected to survive, authorities said.
It is unclear if the two incidents are related. No arrests were made in either Wednesday night.
The 34-year-old mother said the recent space of violence in the neighborhood has made her afraid of being unsafe.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“Unfortunately, we feel nearby that we are not safe,” the mother said. ‘There was a shot around the corner yesterday. We might need to have some police in the area. ”
CLICK HERE TO KEEP LIGHT IN THE NEW YORK POST
