A woman was arrested after she was caught on video angrily setting a car on fire at a Hollywood gas station on Friday.
Video shows the woman approaching a Toyota Corolla parked at a Mobil gas station on the 6300 block of Santa Monica Boulevard at around 4 a.m.
The woman, who was dragging a large suitcase with her, ignites an object and throws it near the vehicle. She adds to the growing flames by pouring flammable liquid before walking away.
However, a man, who witnesses said was the gas station owner, quickly runs over with a fire extinguisher and douses the flames. The woman notices and as fire trucks arrive at the scene, she attempts to light the car on fire a second time.
She ignites an unknown object and throws it on the ground while spraying it with flammable liquid again. She then yells, “Get out of the car!” however nobody was inside the targeted vehicle.
The man runs over and extinguishes the flames again, at times directing the spraying chemicals toward the woman as she continued dispersing the flammable liquid.
Residents told KTLA’s Mary Beth McDade that they’ve seen the woman walking around the neighborhood, often making angry outbursts. They also believe the woman is homeless but that detail has not been confirmed by police.
The car’s owner, Anderson Martinez, 21, said he doesn’t know the woman and is shocked over the destruction. Martinez is an Uber Eats delivery driver who is left distraught as he can’t earn money without his car.
“I’m shocked to see it,” Martinez said. “I’ve never seen her in my life. I don’t know why she would do this. There was nobody in the car.”
“The entire thing could’ve blown up, including the gas station, everything,” said the owner of another vehicle that was parked nearby. “It could’ve been a disaster.”
Police arrived and apprehended the woman. While being handcuffed, she began resisting, forcing an officer to grab her legs and tackle her to the ground.
It’s unclear what prompted the destructive ordeal. Her identity was not released as the case remains under investigation.
Footage of the incident can be seen in the video player above.