2 Detroit gas station arson incidents happen within 12 hours; one with blowtorch inside store

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Within 12 hours there were two separate gas station incidents involving accelerants and fire in Detroit on Monday.

One happened when an angry customer used gasoline and a blow torch to light it on fire at the Sunoco at Seven Mile between Evergreen and the Southfield freeway. The second incident involved a suspect trying to light an SUV full of accelerants on fire at a downtown Speedway.

In the first incident, the clerk on duty had to run through the fire as the lobby went up in flames – in seconds.

Detroit police said the suspect came in paid cash for gas, goes outside and filled up a trash can with it. The security camera video picks up with him pouring the gas all over. A few words are exchanged then he used a blow torch lighting it on fire.

"The part we are not showing you is the victim who was set on fire, who ran through that," said James White.

Detroit police showed the uncut version of the clerk running through the flames to get out.

FOX 2 spoke to the 27-year-old clerk on the phone Tuesday - he had just gotten out of the hospital, surviving with 1st-degree burns.

"The motives are totally unclear, but I think that we know that this person was not dealing with their normal state of cognition," White said. "There's something going on with that person."

Within hours of this happening early Tuesday morning – police arrested the 35-year-old suspect.

Clearly, you’ve got arson with intent to kill, an attempted murder case," White said. "You don’t have to be a police officer to see that one. There might be some other charges added.

In a bizarre coincidence – hours earlier on Monday, there was another gas station arson case but that ended thankfully, as a close call.

HAZMAT crews responded after a 58-year-old man allegedly drove up with a vehicle full of accelerants at Speedway at Jefferson and the Chrysler Service Drive. He attempted to light them not once but twice, and failed.

"Thank God that he was unable to ignite that vehicle," White said.

Then, police say the suspect lingered nearby as HAZMAT crews and arson investigators worked the scene. A Detroit police detective saw him lurking and put the pieces together, making the arrest.

Chief White says – it’s clearly someone dealing with serious emotional issues.

"We think that, coincidentally, two people made horrible decisions within 12 hours of each other," he said. "And thankfully no one was killed."

The Sunoco clerk ran through the flames after a suspect used a blowtorch and gasoline to set a blaze inside the store.