A Florida man has been arrested and charged with aggravated battery and attempted murder after throwing gasoline on and igniting another man in the midst of a dispute.
In a press release about the incident, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said (note: the typos in the statement were made by the sheriff’s department):
A man is under arrest for throwing gasoline on another man and lighting him on fire.
On Sunday, May 28, 2023, at 4:32 p.m., two men at the Mobile gas station located at 14516 N 22nd Street in Tampa engaged in a verbal confrontation, after which the suspect, Earl Hargrove, Jr., 34, bought a small amount of gasoline from the gas station. Hargrove then proceeded to pour the gasoline on the victim and lit the him on fire.
The victim was taken to TGH where he is in critical condition with life-threatening injuries.
“A verbal argument should never escalate to this level of violence,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister. “This suspect’s behavior is not only deplorable but will never be tolerated in our community. The suspect, in this case, is currently behind bars while we wait in anticipation for justice to be served.”
Earl Hargrove, Jr. is facing charges of Aggravated Batter Great Bodily Harm and Attempted Murder in the First Degree. Individuals that may have additional information on this particular case are asked to call 813-247-8200.
The suspect, Earl Hargrove Jr., is currently being held without bond in the Hillsborough County Orient Road Jail.
Violent crime is a significant problem in Tampa, FL, as Neighborhood Scout noted in a report on the town, saying:
The crime rate in Tampa is considerably higher than the national average across all communities in America from the largest to the smallest, although at 21 crimes per one thousand residents, it is not among the communities with the very highest crime rate. The chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime in Tampa is 1 in 47. Based on FBI crime data, Tampa is not one of the safest communities in America. Relative to Florida, Tampa has a crime rate that is higher than 70% of the state’s cities and towns of all sizes.
However, compared to other communities of similar population size, Tampa has a crime rate that is noticeably lower than the average. This means that for comparably sized cities all across America, Tampa is actually safer than most according to NeighborhoodScout’s exclusive analysis of FBI crime data.
Now let us turn to take a look at how Tampa does for violent crimes specifically, and then how it does for property crimes. This is important because the overall crime rate can be further illuminated by understanding if violent crime or property crimes (or both) are the major contributors to the general rate of crime in Tampa.
For Tampa, we found that the violent crime rate is one of the highest in the nation, across communities of all sizes (both large and small). Violent offenses tracked included rape, murder and non-negligent manslaughter, armed robbery, and aggravated assault, including assault with a deadly weapon. According to NeighborhoodScout’s analysis of FBI reported crime data, your chance of becoming a victim of one of these crimes in Tampa is one in 178.
Featured image credit: Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
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