Three suspects pour gasoline on North Carolina woman, set her on fire with lit cigarette: police

A 20-year-old North Carolina woman was reportedly assaulted and set on fire by three unknown assailants on Dec. 16. The report comes as a woman was burned alive on the New York subway with an illegal immigrant was arrested for the crime 

The attackers poured gasoline all over Ashanti Downey’s body and lit the highly flammable liquid with a cigarette before fleeing the scene, Harnett County Sheriff Wayne Coats reported in a Facebook post. Police are still looking for the suspects. 

“Ashanti Downey was walking in the area of NC 27 West and Barbecue Church Road when three unknown individuals doused her with gasoline and lit her on fire with a cigarette,” the Sherriff said.  

An ambulance rushed Downey to emergency where she was diagnosed with second and third degree burns on her right side. Medical personnel at Central Carolina Hospital in Sanford, NC reported the crime to the Harnett County Sheriff’s Office at about 7 p.m. Downey was walking along a local highway on her way to a dollar store when she was brutally attacked. 

"How could they do this to my baby?" Donecia Davis, the mother of Downey told reporters. "You didn't have to do this to her." 

Downey has been transferred to a local burn facility, where she continues to fight for her life in critical but stable condition, according to WRAL News. Almost three-quarters of her body is burned to some degree. Her family has established a GoFundMe site to pay for medical costs that will include surgery, additional treatment and rehabilitation. 

Harnett County Sheriff Wayne Coats said the incident was the most horrific crime his police unit has ever had to deal with. “It’s just a nightmare for this family,” he said, observing that he hasn’t a clue what the motive for the attack might have been. “It could have been domestic-related,” he said. “It could have been a gang initiation. We’re mystified by what’s happened.” 

The police have not been able to locate witnesses and information on the incident has been sparse from the public. Those with more information have been asked to contact Detective Ronald Beasley at 910-893-0151, Harnett County Sheriff’s Office at 910-893-9111, or the tip line at 910-893-0300. 

Another woman was set on fire in a New York City subway on Sunday. She did not survive the ordeal. Illegal immigrant Sebastian Zapeta-Calil is accused of setting the sleeping woman on fire which led to her death. Zapeta-Calil had been deported from the US in 2018 but came back in as a gotaway.