Homless Man Set on Fire

[Monica]

BOSTON - A homeless man sleeping in a park was attacked early Sunday by two men who kicked him in the stomach and then set him on fire, police said.

No arrests were made and police gave no indication of what might have provoked the attack.

The 30-year-old homeless man, whose name was not released, told police he was awakened by the men kicking him in Langone Park in the city's North End.

He drifted back to sleep after the assault, but the men returned, drenched him with a flammable liquid and set his legs on fire, police said.

A 911 caller reported flames in the park, and firefighters found the man wrapped in a blanket after he had ripped off some of his burning clothes.

"He was shivering and was partially dressed," said police spokesman John Boyle.

The park is a short walk from a cluster of downtown bars.

The victim was treated at Massachusetts General Hospital for burns to his legs.

Nationally, the number of assaults against the homeless has risen dramatically since 2002, according to a recent report by the National Coalition for the Homeless. In 2005, 73 homeless people were assaulted nationwide and 13 died, the report said.

Last August, a 40-year-old homeless man died in Boston after he was beaten. Two teenagers have been charged with manslaughter.

In Fort Lauderdale, Fla., a surveillance camera captured two people beating a homeless man to death with baseball bats, the same night two other men were seriously injured. Three teenagers have pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and attempted murder.

http://kevxml2adsl.verizon.net/_1_2J5NTO104PIIP7L__vzn.dsl/apnws/story.htm?kcfg=apart&feed=ap&sin=D8G5L0K03&qcat=usnews&passqi=&top=1&ran=26299

Oh, that is just soooooooooooo sick, I have no words for it! :(

[Aegix Drakan]

That is just freaking dumb. who the freak sets a homleless guy on fire. they are people too!

the worst part is, I have a friend who would possibly find it funny. :(

[Rijuhn]

How can anyone ever have it in their hearts to set someone else on fire? The people responsible for this must either think poor/homeless people as sub-human or not have any care for fellow human beings to do something like that. I hope those responsible see the error of their ways and change.

[ShadowTiger]

... ... Holy ... Crap ... ...

You know, there are people in the world who find it funny to make fun of people to make themselves happy, and they think it's alright, or don't think anything of it at all. It's not a very long walk from setting someone on fire for your own amusement. It provides a brief moment of warmth and humor, then it dawns on you that what you've done was a terrible, terrible thing. If you can't realize that, or don't want to, then you have some serious thinking to do.

[MacWeirdo42]

Nationally, the number of assaults against the homeless has risen dramatically since 2002, according to a recent report by the National Coalition for the Homeless.
Okay, that's just a disturbing quote. What the heck is that all about? Okay, some crime makes sense, but basically this seems to be killing people just to watch them die, or something like that. Bizarre mentality... "They're homeless, so they're not real people, and no one will care if I kill 'em."

[Lilith]

Well, at least it wasn't a cat D:

[*b*]

flaming hobos. not cool. it's bad enough they're living on the streets, but to be beaten up and burnt, even killed... oh, the world we live in, eh?

[koopa]

It's just really sick and disturbing, I hope whoever did this gets caught and punished.

My view is that everyone should be taught from a young age that it is wrong to hurt others, especially for your own pleasure. These attackers seem to have missed an important lesson somewhere.

What I find most disturbing when I read such articles, though, is that even the criminals who did that are humans like any of us.

[Archibaldo]

Wow. I can't believe some one would want to kill people less fortunate than themselves. I could see setting fire to some one better than you whos a dick but not to some one you don't know.

[ZTC]

I find this to be sickenly disturbing

[DarkPanther]

That is just freaking dumb. who the freak sets a homleless guy on fire.
I know, right?

They need to be dismembered and thrown into uninhabitable swampland.

[Monica]

I know, right?

They need to be dismembered and thrown into uninhabitable swampland.

The homeless guys or the people who set them on fire??? :confused:

[punkonjunk1024]

wtf it's just a hobo. Why not beat up someone who at least "deserves" it, in some kind of sense? I mean seriously. He's obviously got alot of shit going down if he's a hobo. How the hell will he pay for the hospital? wtf americans?

[DarkPanther]

The homeless guys or the people who set them on fire??? :confused:
I'm just saying, these kids running around, half-assing these acts of vandalism is disappointing.

If you're going to do something, do it right.

Put a little extra effort into it. Know what I mean? Maybe if they offered Homeless Person Victimization (HPV) as an extracurricular activity in high school, we'd have something truly groundbreaking to fume over here. Setting fire to someone already steaming with feces is low-class. Kiddie stuff.

Now, just imagine the uproar from the media if there were homeless people on the streets in the Grand Theft Auto series. I think this would be a good outlet for the homeless. I think we'd see a sharp decline in the number of assaults against the homeless, and what assults there still were going on would be far more creative.

Come on, like you haven't thought, "God, I wish I had a remote C4 right now. I'd plant one on the belly of that bum, run a hundred feet, turn around and push that button." We've all thought that. But that's why remote C4's aren't readily available to you and me.

So anyways, let's just call this what it is and not be so touchy about it.

It's America.

[Aegix Drakan]

that's just stupid, panther. I think we know what you do in your spare time...

I'm trying very hard to restrain myself from atttacking your rep right now...

[moocow]

that's just stupid, panther. I think we know what you do in your spare time...

I'm trying very hard to restrain myself from atttacking your rep right now...

lol, that's one hell of an insult.

I laughed at Panther's post. Of course I think he's a bit demented, but whatever.

[DarkPanther]

that's just stupid, panther.
Ok, I admit, the HPV thing was a little over the top.

Otherwise, what's so stupid?

Let's discuss.

[Aegix Drakan]

:rolleyes: the HPV was what I had a problem with. As if we don't already have enough useless classes in school...

[DarkPanther]

Well that's silly to get so worked up over, isn't it?

I did not state that it should happen.

I simply stated a cause and effect.

[ZTC]

I knew somebody was going to post something demented, I'm surprised that it wasn't me
"let's watch that flaming hobo run!" :odd:

DP, you're one of the most demented bastards I know...
...don't ever change ;)

[Glitch]

www.bumfights.com

[ZTC]

cripe, I remember seeing this advertised late night a few months ago (and a Simpsons episode a year or to ago...)

How can they get away with that?

[Tygore]

I wonder, who would the crime be considered against? Technically, the homeless man might not legally exist. He wouldn't have papers, birth certificate, social security, etc. Depending on what happened to the man afterward (or the body had he died), could they even prove a crime had been committed against anybody?

Just throwing it out there. On a completely twisted note, "Flaming Hobos" sounds like a good name for a band.

[DarkPanther]

"Flaming Hobos" sounds like a good name for a band.
Found there's an unsigned band in the U.K. named that. Can't find anything on them though.

[Beldaran]

Look at the bright side, maybe his friends gathered around for warmth.

/me is going to hell

[koopa]

I do not find that funny.