An elderly man was walking home from a mosque when someone approached him and set him on fire.
Just after 7 o’clock last night, he was confronted by another man after leaving the Birmingham place of worship on Dudley Road.
They exchanged a few words on Brixham Road in the Edgbaston neighborhood before the victim was doused in an unknown liquid and his jacket caught fire.
He was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries, including burns to his face, but it is not thought that they are life-threatening.
Footage has been circulating on social media, showing a man in a backpack pointing at – and at one point pushing – another man before setting him alight.
The police said they are looking into the video as part of their investigation but no details about the clip have been officially confirmed.
One local, who only gave his name as Ibraheem, captured an attack on his home’s CCTV.
He said: ‘The footage shows an older man walking on the path, I understand he had been to evening prayers at the mosque and was going home.
‘Out of nowhere a man approached him and in other video online he was heard asking the man: “Do you speak Arabic?”
‘The victim said he didn’t speak Arabic but spoke Punjabi. He suddenly got out a flammable spray and doused the man with it. It looked like the victim managed to turn away so his jacket protected his body.
‘Suddenly there was a whooshing sound and he was on fire and the man who did it just walked away.
‘The fact that the attacker was black and asking if the victim spoke Arabic suggests to me it wasn’t racially motivated but you never know.
‘This is a close knit area where people know each other. My dad knows of the victim and he is a lovely, genuine, honest man.’
Councillor Rizwan Jalil, who is also from West Midlands fire authority, told BirminghamLive: ‘I’m absolutely appalled by this vile attack on an elderly respected gentleman.
‘He is a pillar of this community who has lived here for well over 20 years.’
A women who lives close to where the violence took place said: ‘I’m hoping it was a grievance and not a racist attack. – we have a good community.
‘Why would someone do that? It’s the lowest of the low.’
Superintendent James Spence said: ‘I’ve been speaking to people this morning, and so I know just how concerned they are, and that people are after answers.
‘We are determined to find the person responsible and get those answers as soon as possible, and I’d urge the community to work with us and to avoid any speculation at this stage.’
The force has deployed extra officers in the area to reassure locals.
Anyone who thinks they might have information on the crime has been asked to come forward.